


The Curious Case of Dean Winchester (The Archangel)

by Amhpq8_12



Series: Archangel Dean Winchester [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 11, Anal Sex, Angel Dean, Angst, Archangel Dean, Darkness, Destiel - Freeform, Explicit for future chapters, Feels, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming, Season/Series 11 Speculation, Smut, Soulmates, but gets what is coming to him, john winchester is a dick, the explicit is for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-17 22:30:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4683719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amhpq8_12/pseuds/Amhpq8_12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Sam are at it again-saving the world that is. This time though, Michael decides he wants to help. When Dean gets pulled out of their hotel room, chaos ensues. Dean gets turned into an archangel. Its up to him, Sam, and of course Castiel to save the world from darkness. A little unexpected help comes around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Supernatural. This is what I want to see happen in season 11. Do not read if you don't like male/male romance/porn. Other than that, please enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam are reunited with Castiel. As they try to figure out their next game plan, a surprise event occurs.

Dean looked at Sam as darkness overtook the vehicle. He could barely make out his brother’s huge form. "So...what next?"  
"Did you even think that through?" Sam asked incredulously. He sounded giddy to Dean’s ears. “You just iced Death!"  
“Would you prefer that I iced you?" Dean asked rolling his eyes. He slowed down. No use in trying to outrun it anymore. "Sure I was pissed about Charlie's death but do you think that I would just kill us? Really?"  
"How could I possibly know that?" Sam spread his arms wide. "I insisted on getting that mark off of you. I dragged Charlie and Cas into it too. It got her killed. I blame me too. This is all my fault.”  
"Sam, you're my brother," Dean said slowly. "That means I have to forgive your dumb ass when you do stupid things." Dean laughed tightly. "Besides a lot of that anger was the mark. It did a lot to me.“  
"Seriously?" Sam scoffed. "So you wouldn't have gone all nuclear terminator on the Stynes if you hadn't had the Mark of Cain? Yeah right. I know you better than that, Dean.”  
"No that was me." Dean shook his head. "I mean that thing was eating at me and making me more angry than I would have been. It made me want it okay? More than I wanted to stop.”  
"We need to find someplace to stop," the younger Winchester said after a minute. "And we need to call Cas. Make sure he’s okay.”  
"What do you think this stuff is?" Dean asked. He squinted at the black cloud around them. "It just looks like a bad sandstorm right now."  
“I have no idea,” Sam said shaking his head. “Do you think that Cas will know?”  
“How could he?” he asked. “Death didn’t even tell me what it was really. All he said was that the mark was the key to the darkness.” He paused. “Do you think we’re talking about the sun going out or something?”  
“You mean like literal darkness?” Sam shrugged. “It could mean anything.”  
“Well aren’t you just a ball of sunshine?”  
“It was your suggestion, jerk,” Sam said glaring. “Do you think that Crowley and Cas are okay?”  
“I don’t know,” Dean said.  
“Why don’t you call Cas and see if he can come?”  
Dean looked around trying to find a hotel for them to stay the night. He spotted a sign for a cheap place about four miles down the road. "Let's stop there and see if we can get Cas to come to us. It would be better if we didn’t do this in baby.”  
"Do you think he got away from Crowley?" Sam asked. "He was pretty intent on killing him. That spell Rowena put on him knocked him for a loop/“  
"I hope so," Dean said. "Rowena was really wanting her son gone. She tried to get me to kill him and then you. I guess she had to be pretty desperate to try to get an angel to kill him.“  
"Let me check us in and we'll try calling him in our room," Sam offered. He got out and disappeared into the dark.  
Dean had the high beams on in the Impala but he still wasn't able to see very far. He could make out the blurry outline of the streetlights in the parking lot but not anything else.  
Sam was back shortly with a set of keys. "Okay, we have a room."  
The room turned out to have two beds but a really strange smell. "I don't want to know what that is," Dean said. "I have smelled so many things but this might be the worst."  
"Well," Sam threw his stuff on the bed. "Beggars can't be choosers. We needed to find a place to set up a temporary base camp.”  
"I know but that doesn't  mean it has to smell bad," Dean grumbled. He tossed his bag on the bed.  
"Just call Cas," his brother said. "We need him here to figure out what's going on."  
"Fine," he said. He closed his eyes. "I pray to the angel Castiel. Please join us in figuring out what this darkness is. Don't kill Crowley." A flap of wings signaled Cas's arrival. The angel looked tired. Blood spotted his trench coat.  
"Thank you," Cas said, "I'm not sure how long I would have held out in not killing him."  
"How did you get away?" Sam asked.  
"I think that the darkness that was released dimmed the effect of the spell," the angel said. "And when Dean prayed to me, I was able to break away completely."  
"Do you think if you saw Crowley again you would continue trying to kill him?" Dean asked curious. "I know he's irritating but we might need him in the future." Dean shot Sam a pointed looked. "No more trying to kill the demon."  
"Fine, alright," Sam ground out. He gave Dean a bitchface. “No more trying to kill the king of hell."  
"Thank you," Dean said. "Now Cas, do you know anything about what we just released?"  
"I have never seen this before," Cas said. "I had no idea that the Mark of Cain was a key. I wasn't privy to this kind of information when the mark was first placed on Cain. God must have had a very good reason to lock it up though."  
"Would any of the other angels know about it?" Sam asked. "Someone has to know what this is."  
"Even if they were inclined to talk to me, I think that the archangels would have been the only ones who knew about the finer details of the mark," Cas said. “Or God, but you know how that worked out for us before.”  
"And we can't ask them because they are either dead, in the cage, or missing,” Dean sighed. "That's just great. The one thing they would have come in handy for and they're not here."  
"I'm sorry I can't help more."  
"Its not your fault man," Dean said. "How in the world were you guys supposed to know what would happen?"  
"You're not mad at us?" the angel asked surprised. "But you said you would kill me if you saw me again."  
"I didn't mean it," Dean asked blushing. "I was angry that Charlie was killed for something that I put on my body. There are so many people who have died for me that it's getting to the point where I don't have any family left. I don't want any more people to die. Not for me.”  
"Dean, there are so many people who love you," Sam said. "They didn't die because of a failure on your part. They died to help you. Charlie could have left that room. She could have given that bastard the information that he wanted but she didn't because of who she is."  
"Charlie wanted to protect you, Dean." Cas said. "It is not your fault that she died. I should have kept a better eye on her and Rowena. If anyone is to blame, it is me."  
"Now that we all blame ourselves for what happened," Sam said, “how about we try to figure out what this stuff is and how to stop it?"  
"Do you think you can mojo yourself back to the bunker to get Sam's laptop?" Dean asked.  "That way he can do research."  
"I'm sure I can," Cas said nodding. "I'll be back." He disappeared with a flap.  
"I wonder if he knows that he quoted a movie?" Dean said. "Maybe he is starting to pick things up."  
Sam shook his head. "I'd be willing to bet that he hasn't even seen that movie."  
"Come on, man," he said. "I've been a good influence. He must have watched some movies!"  
Cas returned holding the computer and even the power cord in his hands. "I've got it. There was nothing remaining in the bunker but we should probably not return for some time."  
"I figured that would be the case," Sam said. "Have you seen the Terminator movies?"  
"What does that have to do with the unknown darkness creeping over the world?" Cas asked seriously. "But no I haven't."  
"Never mind," Dean interrupted. "Its nothing." Cas turned his head and stared blankly at the window. "Cas?"


	2. A New Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gets taken up to the mothership. Or rather the garden. There he meets up with someone he thought was long dead and learns the truth about what has been happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way this hasn't been beta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Castiel looked at Dean. His jaw was hanging down. “What is it, Cas? Are you being called in?” Dean asked confused.  
“That can’t be,” the angel gasped. “It can’t be possible.”  
“What can’t be possible?” Sam asked looking up from his computer. “Dean?”  
“It’s Michael,” Cas replied sadly. “According to what I am hearing, he’s asked God to make him mortal. It’s all that I can hear.”  
“Is that even possible?” Dean asked. “Is your angel radio reliable?”  
“But I thought that Michael was stuck in the cage,” Sam said ignoring Dean. “How would he even be able to get out without letting Lucifer out too?”  
“Did God do it though?” Dean asked for clarification. “Are we freaking out for nothing? What are the odds?”  
“According to what I’m hearing, he did,” Cas said. He sat down at their small table. “As far as anyone is saying Lucifer is still in his cage.”  
“But why would he do that?” Sam asked. The younger Winchester stood and started pacing their small room. “I don’t understand, if He could just let one person out, why didn’t He let me out? Or even Michael to begin with? Or Adam even?”  
“I didn’t know it was possible,” Castiel said softly. Dean could tell that his angel was going into shock. How that was possible Dean didn’t know. “He can do anything He wants, I guess.”  
“Well yeah, He is God,” Dean said flopping back on the bed. “Why not let Mikey out? Hell, why not release both of them?”  
Dean closed his eyes and tried to will the headache that was beginning to form away. They had let darkness sweep across the world and now the most powerful angel asked to become human. What in the Hell could happen next?  
“Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to ask questions like that, Dean?”  
Dean was off of the bed in an instant. Only he wasn’t in the hotel room anymore. Dean stood in the middle of an enormous garden. A man he thought had died long ago sat on a bench watching the flowers sway in the breeze.  
“Hello, Dean,” Chuck said. “Its good to see you again.”  
“Hey, Chuck,” Dean said haltingly. “Not that it isn’t good to see you too, but what am I doing here?”  
“I brought you here to talk, of course,” he said. “What I wanted to say to you couldn’t be said in front of everyone back in your hotel room. Plus, you have to admit, its much nicer here. Doesn’t have that smell.”  
“I’ll say. I can’t argue with you there.” Dean sat down next to the prophet. “I didn’t know you had the juice to do this.”  
“Well, God has the juice to do anything.” The man smirked at Dean.  
“Yeah right,” Dean laughed. One glance at Chuck told him he was being serious. “So you’re telling me that God is an alcoholic book writer with a thing for Mistress Magdna?”  
“Um,” Chuck blushed. “I had to blend in. By the time you had found me, I had been living among humans for thousands of years. Things can get boring you know.”  
“Was she hot though?” Dean asked. He was getting a huge kick from teasing the person (being?) he and Sammy had been tormented by for years. “At least tell me she was hot.”  
“Very,” Chuck said smiling. He shook his head. “That’s not why I brought you here though.”  
“I figured as much,” Dean sighed. “Just give it to me straight. How much pain and suffering are we going to have to go though this time?”  
“A lot,” Chuck said. “You have to know that the mark was never meant to just go away. I needed a key to lock all of that darkness away. I never intended for that to be unleashed ever again. This world was not meant to see it. I also didn’t mean for you to take on the mark as your own.”  
“So I’m getting the mark back,” Dean concluded. “I thought that I would.”  
“No, Dean, you’re not,” Chuck said. “It is gone now and the darkness is already out there. Giving it back to you would solve nothing. I won’t give it back to you.”  
“I sense that there is a but in there somewhere.”  
“I love that about you,” God said smiling. “I love all of my creations equally but I have to say, you are a special one.”  
“Thanks.” He grimaced. “I think.”  
“You’re welcome,” Chuck said seriously. “There is always something more. As I’m sure you are aware of now, Michael has asked me to make him mortal. I was terribly surprised but I granted his wish anyway.”  
“Why did you?” Dean asked curiously.  
“Because I think that it will do him good,” God answered simply. “He will be born to a good family who will show him love. He won’t remember a thing about being an angel until he returns to Heaven. By that time, he should have learned a lot about humanity and have a better understanding of it.”  
“That’s incredibly generous of you,” Dean said. “So he will be like Anna then?”  
“No,” Chuck shook his head. “Michael will be completely human, not a fallen angel. I think that this will enable him to learn a lesson from all of this.”  
“Is Lucifer still in his cage?”  
“Yes.” He nodded. “He was still very vicious to his brother when I pulled Michael from the cage. I’m not sure there is much that can be done for him.”  
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I know how important family is and what it can do somebody when they can’t save the ones that they need to.”  
“Yes,” Chuck said. “I suppose you would.” He turned to the hunter will a smile. “Enough with that. As I was saying about Michael, though, was that I had to pull his grace from him to make him mortal.”  
“That makes sense,” Dean said frowning. “That must have been very painful for him. But I’m still not sure what that has to do with this little pow wow of our’s.”  
“You, as Michael’s vessel, can contain the grace of an archangel,” Chuck said. “The grace cannot be destroyed, Dean. I cannot destroy it.”  
“You want me to hold onto it until Michael dies?” Dean stood up. “So he can become an angel again?”  
“Michael never wants to be an angel again,” God said. “I believe that he has grown tired of all the fighting. He does not wish to continue on this way.”  
“Then why do you want me to carry his grace?” Dean asked confused. “What good will that do? Do you think he’s going to change his mind?”  
“You misunderstand me, Dean,” Chuck said. “I don’t want you to become a simple container for his grace. I want you to become the new head archangel.”  
“Wait…what?” Dean started pacing. “You want me to become a part of the angel squad? After all that I have done? All of the beings that I’ve killed. I’ve been to Hell for crying out loud!”  
“That makes you the perfect person for this job,” God said smiling. “You care so much for everyone, this world. You know what its like to feel indescribable pain, to feel deep lose. But you also know what having so much power can do to something, how it can corrupt even the most pious of beings.”  
“But me?” Dean said spreading his arms out. “Look at me.” He demanded. “You have the whole universe at your fingers and you choose me. There has to be someone better for this!”  
“I know you, Dean,” God said firmly. “I (know) you. I made you. There is no one out there that is better suited for this position than you are.”  
“Are you sure you’re not drunk still?” Dean asked narrowing his eyes at the former prophet.  
“No,” Chuck laughed.”I’m not.”  
“Okay,” Dean sighed again. “You’re God, I guess that you would know what you are doing.”  
“Not all of the time,” He admitted. “But in this instance, I know that this is the right thing to do.”  
“Lay it on me,” Dean said closing his eyes. A minute passed while he waited for the agony that was sure to come. Nothing happened. He peaked out to see his old friend smirking at him. “What are you waiting for?”  
“This won’t hurt Dean,” he said. “But I must tell you some things first.”  
“Shoot.” Dean blushed.  
“First of all, this grace will be entirely your own. I took it from Michael, yes, but I cleansed it and made it stronger.”  
“That does make me feel a bit better about this,” Dean admitted. “It felt a little like I would be stealing it from him.”  
“No, this is one hundred percent your own,” Chuck said. “There will also be certain upgrades, if you will, to help you defeat the darkness. And I will give you some old friends to help you. This is going to be a long road. You’re going to need everyone that you can get.”  
“Thank you,” Dean said.  
“Now, you need to get back,” Chuck said. “I know your friends are becoming worried about you.”  
“But—“  
“This won’t hurt,” God continued. “But it may sting a little.”  
That was all the warning Dean received before God touched a hand to Dean’s heart. An electric burning sensation seized Dean. God gave him a smile and a small push, sending him back to the hotel.  
“Son of a bitch!”  
“Dean! Are you okay?” Sam yelled rushing to where Dean had returned on the bed. “Where were you?”  
“S’okay, Sammy,” Dean slurred. Cas joined Sam in hovering over him.  
“Dean! Wake up!” Sam yelled. He shook his brother looking for any injury. “Cas, do something!”  
Castiel leaned over the unconscious hunter and placed his fingers on Dean’s forehead. The angel tired healing him but nothing happened. “I don’t understand.”  
“What do you mean? Heal him!” Sam demanded.  
“Its not working.”  
“Not working? But he’s passed out. Something must be wrong with him.” Sam said rapidly. “I thought you could heal again.”  
“I can,” Cas protested. “Dean isn’t hurt. At least his body isn’t.”  
“And that means what?”  
“It means we wait,” Castiel turned to watch his unconscious friend. “We wait until Dean wakes up.”  
“Do you know where he disappeared to?” the young hunter asked.  
“No,” Cas said shaking his head. “I can’t tell you where he was. There is nothing on him that would tell me where he went to or who he might have spoken to. We have to wait for Dean to tell us.”


	3. A Great Big Headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean wakes up back in the hotel room. Sam is being a mother moose and Dean just wants to get things straightened out.

Dean groaned and clenched his eyes tight. Everything was so bright. This room didn’t seem so well lit last night when they had arrived. Maybe the storm had quit already. He took several deep breaths before trying to open his eyes. The ceiling above him was grimy. As Dean began to focus, two spiders came into view. Dean shivered. He hated laying on his back. Rolling over revealed Sam sitting in the chair closest to the bed. The big moose was asleep with his head at a very uncomfortable angle. Cas was nowhere in sight. 

Dean slowly sat up and stretched out his heavy limbs. His body felt rejuvenated. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so well. It had to have been many years ago. 

Sam jolted awake. “Dean! You’re awake!”

“Right you are Sammy-boy,” Dean said getting up. “And I feel great too.” 

“That’s good,” Sam said a bit more cautiously. “Dean where did you go? One minute you were here, laying on the bed, and the next thing we knew you had simply vanished. Cas and I searched everywhere.”

“Its a pretty long story,” Dean hesitated. “Where’s Cas at anyway?”

“He went to get supplies,” Sam answered. “You disappeared for eight hours and then when you poofed back in here, you passed out.”

“How long was I out?”

“Three days,” he said. “Cas tried to heal you but he said you weren’t hurt. He couldn’t do anything for you. He just left a few hours ago to stock up again. We didn’t know how long you were going to be out.”

“I really need a shower then,” Dean said. 

“But you never told me where you went,” Sam pointed out.

“I’ll tell you everything once he gets back,” Dean promised. “But for now, I really need that shower. I don’t smell too good.” 

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Sam asked again. “We were pretty worried here.” 

“Yes, Sam,” Dean said smiling. “I feel great. The mark isn’t on me anymore. I’m alive and I feel great.” 

“Okay,” Sam nodded skeptically. “But you’re telling us everything once Cas gets back.” 

“I will,” Dean said. “I promise.”

He grabbed some clothes out of his duffle bag. In truth, he didn’t feel very dirty. He just needed some time to himself to think things through. Sam would never have let him get his thoughts in order if Dean had stayed in the room with him. Dean sighed. This hotel might have rooms as crappy as others that they stayed in but at least it had really good hot water. Steam filled the room and Dean scrubbed himself down mechanically. 

“What was he thinking?” Dean asked aloud. “I don’t know how to do anything except kill and fuck things up.” He shook his head. 

All too soon Dean heard the door slam, signaling Cas’s arrival. Dean rubbed a towel over his head quickly. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide from them for much longer. Sam was probably ready to bust into the room and drag him out. 

“Dean, Cas is back.” Sam yelled from the other side of the door. Dean smiled to himself. Some things would never change.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Dean snorted. There was a joke in there somewhere he was just too tired to find it.

“Quit procrastinating,” Sam barked. “You promised that you would tell us everything.” 

“I said I would,” he shouted pulling on his pants. “Get your panties out of a bunch, Samantha.” 

Dean tugged his shirt over his head and opened the door. Cas was watching him from the bed. The angel quickly looked away when Dean caught him eyeing his stomach. Dean frowned at him. Normally Cas wasn’t so shy about looking at him. 

Sam cleared his throat oblivious to what was happening in the room. “So Dean, now that you’re all clean, care to tell us what happened to you?” 

“You’re feeling okay, right?” Castiel asked suddenly. His head tilted to the side as he studied Dean closely. “Your aura is looking a little different.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked. He ignored Dean’s open mouth. “What could he have possibly done in the time he was gone to change his aura?”

“Hey!” Dean huffed. 

Cas focused on him again. “He’s bright like before the mark,” he explained. “And its….shimmering.”

“Shimmering? I don’t shimmer.” 

“In this case you do,” Cas said. “It is most certainly new to your soul. I’ve only ever seen this in a handful of beings.”

“What happened Dean?” Sam demanded. 

“I’m going to need a beer for this,” Dean said. Crossing over to the fridge, Dean popped the last beer open. “I can hardly believe it myself, really.” He took a long pull and looked back at the room. “What happened here?”

“I was telling you both about Michael when you laid down,” Cas began.

“And then you were gone,” Sam said. He impatiently continued the story waving away the angel’s frown. “There was no warning. You just vanished.”

“I couldn’t find you,” Cas said. “You weren’t anywhere on Earth. It was like you were taken completely off of the board.” 

“I think that I was,” Dean said. He leaned against the small table. “I was here and the next thing I knew I was looking at the most amazing garden.”

“A garden?” Sam asked looking disappointed. “I thought you were taken by Crowley or something.”

“Nope,” Dean said. “There were so many flowers there. Each of them were so beautiful.”

“Did Martha show up to teach you how to make one like it?”

“No, jackass,” Dean said. He paused for a second. “But God did.” He enjoyed discovering how far Sam’s jaw could drop.

“Father?” Cas repeated. “Father brought you to the garden.”

“I guess,” Dean shrugged. “It was different from the last time that I saw it though.”

“What did you talk about?” Sam interrupted. 

“He told me that it was true about what happened to Michael,” he shared. Dean felt the weight of that conversation drop on him. “He granted him mortality. Michael won’t remember anything about being an angel when he is reborn on Earth.” 

“Why?” Sam frowned. “I thought that Michael was his number one warrior. He’s the leader of the host and all that.”

“The big guy just said that he thought it would be good for Michael,” Dean said. “He said that Michael needed a chance to see what humanity was like personally.” 

“I cannot believe that He would do that,” Cas said stunned. 

“Well, he did.”

“And God brought you to his garden in Heaven just to tell you this?” Sam asked. “Really?”

“He said that he removed Michael’s grace,” Dean said carefully. He watching understanding dawn on Cas’s face. 

“Oh.” 

“Oh, what?” Sam asked. “I must be missing something here because I am still not seeing a problem.” 

“The grace of an archangel cannot be destroyed,” Cas revealed. “Not even by God.” 

“But what about Gabriel and Raphael?” 

“Essentially, they are dead,” Cas explained. “Their grace was shattered into millions of pieces. They won’t be coming back. But their grace was not destroyed, just scattered.” 

“God didn’t want to do that to Michael’s grace,” Dean said. “He told me that since I was his vessel, my body could handle it.”

“Like a juiced up mason jar?” Sam yelled. “No, that’s not okay!” 

“That’s what I said,” Dean smiled. “He said that Michael didn’t want it back. So he cleansed it.”

“And made it your’s,” Cas guessed. 

“Your’s?” Sam scoffed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Sammy, you’re looking at the newest archangel,” Dean said. He only took a little pleasure in Sam hitting the floor when he passed out. Cas scowled at him. “What? That was funny.”

“Was it really necessary?” Cas asked. He crossed his arms. “You could have told him in a better way.”

“I’m sorry, there’s a better way to tell your younger brother that God himself has made you his new archangel?” Dean rolled his eyes. “Come on Cas. How else was I supposed to tell him?” 

“Maybe gently?” Cas suggested. He shook his head. “What else did father tell you?” 

Dean checked his brother over for any injuries. He didn’t want the moose to bleed out before he woke up. Satisfied that his brother was okay, Dean turned to his angel. 

“Not a whole lot that we couldn’t guess,” Dean said. “He just said that we were in for a lot of pain and suffering to fix this. Like that was news to me.” 

“We do seem to attract this don’t we?” Cas said. He quirked his lips. “But are you really okay with this? Being a part of the God Squad”

“Cas,” Dean said, “how many times have I died?”

“I have lost count.”

“I’ve become a demon,” Dean continued. “I’ve worn the Mark of Cain. I have gone to the pit. I went through purgatory with you. I have never felt so peaceful. I am calm. The mark isn’t trying to make me kill everyone in sight. Even though we are on the edge of who knows what, my soul is calm.” 

“Its the grace,” Castiel said. “I bet that is why you are feeling like that.” 

“You’re not listening,” Dean cut him off. “I would do anything to stop this. Out of all the things I’ve done, this alone has left me feeling like its the absolute best choice. It doesn’t leave a rancid taste in my mouth.” 

“That answers any troubling questions that I might have had,” Sam said slowly. He sat up rubbing his head. “I’m still not sure about all of this but at least you’re being truthful.”

“Hey just because I what I say isn’t always what you want to hear doesn’t mean I’m not being honest with you,” Dean said. “I don’t know what is going to happen next though.”

“None of us do,” Sam said cheerfully. “That’s the beauty of being human.” 

“But I’m not really human anymore, am I?” 

“I’m not sure,” Cas said softly. He put a hand on the hunter’s shoulder. “You will start to change soon. You could still be half human or just retain certain quirks. We won’t know until you manifest fully. I have never encountered this before so I have no idea how this will progress or how quickly it will progress.” 

“Okay, thanks,” Dean mumbled. He could tell that the angel was trying to be comforting but it wasn’t working. “My brother passes out when I tell him and my angel doesn’t know what’s going on. Just great.”

“Your angel?” Sam asked laughing. “So now he’s your angel?”

“I have always been Dean’s angel,” Cas said stiffly. “I am Dean’s angel.”

“You hear that, Dean?” Sam winked at him. “

“Thanks, Sam.” Dean rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath. “Cas? When do you think that I’ll start to change?”

“It could be any—“

Dean cut him off with a scream. His whole body felt like it was on fire. Heat started flowing through his body and pooled in his back. “I guess that answered my question.” 

“Can you knock him out?” Sam asked quickly.

Cas brushed his fingers against Dean’s head. “No.” He shook his head. “I cannot knock out an archangel.”

“Can you at least soundproof the room?” his brother asked. “We don’t need anyone breaking down the door to figure out what is happening in here.” 

“Sammy?”

“What, Dean?” 

“I think I’m going to pass out again.” Dean managed a weak smile before the world went dark again. 

*Castiel* 

“Is that normal?” Sam asked. He didn’t look up from his brother. 

“None of this is normal,” Castiel said. “I have not heard of this before.” He started scanning Dean’s body. “There seems to be some sort of overwhelming pain that is coming from his back. Help me roll him over.” They pulled the hunter’s body over. “What was He thinking? Hasn’t Dean given him enough?” 

Sam grimaced. “He was probably thinking that Dean was the right person to do this. Dean’s strong, he can do this? He didn’t give into the mark did he?” 

“He would have,” Cas said. “It was only a matter of time.” He sat on the bed next to the new angel. “Why does it always have to be him?”

“Because he can take it,” Sam said fiercely. He looked Cas in the eye. “My brother is the one person I have always been able to count on. Dean raised me. He made sure that I had food and clothes. Dean has protected me countless times. He is the most selfless person that I know. So loose this bullshit attitude you’ve got going on. That’s the last thing that he needs right now.”

Shame enveloped him. He closed his eyes. “You’re right, Dean is an amazing person. I’m just worried about him. What if we really loose him this time? I don’t think that I can handle that.”

“We won’t,” Sam said quietly. He sat on the bed next to his brother. “We won’t let that happen.


	4. Level Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds out that there are more perks to being an angel. Two surprise guests make an appearance.

Dean groaned and gripped his head. He was way past tired of waking up from passing out due to extreme pain. "What happened? Why does my head hurt?“

"You passed out again," Sam said. 

"That was a revelation, thanks," he said. He wanted to roll his eyes but he knew that it would cause too much pain. "I meant, why did I pass out?"

"I believe that you began to manifest your powers," Cas said. "You wings exploded from your back an hour after you lost consciousness. I am unsure of what else you developed." 

"Wings?" Dean said shocked. "I have wings?"

"You're an archangel," Sam said narrowing his eyes. "Didn't you think that one day you would grow wings?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Dean admitted. "Wouldn't you be surprised if you suddenly grew wings?" 

Sam looked sheepish. "Yeah, I would." He turned to Castiel. "How would we know if he has developed any other powers?"

“My wings aren’t pink, right?” Dean asked. He fidgeted on the bed. “Anything but pink.” 

“No,” Cas said. “They are very magnificent though.” 

“What does that mean?” Dean snorted. “What are we talking here? Eagle? Penguin?”

“More like how people envisioned dragons,” Cas said thoughtfully. “But with feathers not just leathery appendages.” 

“Awesome.” Dean nodded. 

“I can’t see them,” Sam pouted. “For all I know you have hummingbird wings.”

“Shut up, bitch,” Dean said. He tried to hide his grin. At least Sam seemed like he wasn’t freaking out anymore. “God wouldn’t give me hummingbird wings.”

“He might change his mind if you keep talking like that,” he said primly. “These are a gift.”

“A pretty badass gift,” Dean said. “Why aren’t you freaking out about this? I’m an angel now.”

“I guess having you like this is better than you go to hell or having the mark,” Sam said easily. He handed Dean a burger. “You’re alive Dean. That’s all that matters to me. If you grow a pair of wings in the process, so be it.” 

“It won’t just be wings,” Castiel said quietly. “Dean is becoming an archangel. He will be the only one of his kind of angel left. We have no idea the amount of power that he will so be able to produce.”

“I guess I’m important then,” Dean said. “How do you like that?”

“Dean,” Cas said frowning. “You’ve always been important.” 

“I meant to say that angels will be drawn to me right?” Dean said embarrassed. “They will come looking for me once they sense the power coming from me.” 

“You’re damn right they will,” Charlie said from the foot of the bed. “You’re a pretty intense beacon right now.” 

“Charlie!” Dean yelled. He jumped off the bed and hugged the red head. “I’m so glad that you’re here. I missed you so much.” 

“I can tell,” she said with a smile. “Its good to see you too.” 

“Its good to see you again, Charlie,” Cas offered with a small smile. “I’m sorry that I got you killed.”

“No, feathers, that was all me,” Charlie said with a smile. “You told me not to leave the flock but I insisted. I just needed to get away from that witch.”

“It worked Charlie,” Sam said pulling her into a hug. “You did it.”

“Didn’t you say that I was a genius?” she asked with a grin. “How could you doubt me?”

“Charlie,” Dean said, “not that it isn’t good to see you. It is. But what are you doing here? We burned your body.”

“You caused quite the stir up there, Dean,” she said. “I mean more than usual. You killed Death. So when a certain deity came knocking on my door and asked if I wanted to be the new Death, I said yes.” 

“You what?” Dean asked shocked. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said with a glare. “I wasn’t done here. You’re an archangel now. Tell me how that’s different.” 

“There’s not really a difference, Dean,” Cas said. “Father asked her to become Death just like he asked you to become an angel.” 

“Not helping here Cas,” Dean muttered. He shook his head. “So you’re the new Death?”

“That’s right,” Charlie said brightly. “I think God knows you guys need all the help you can get. Which is why he asked me to do this.” She waved her hand with a flourish.

Dean and Sam looked around. Nothing happened. “Um, Charlie. You might not have the hang of these new powers yet, your highness.” 

“Honey, I’m home!” The loud voice shocked the hunters and the angel. “What’s for dinner?”

“Gabriel? You brought back Gabriel?” Dean was stunned. He never expected to hear that voice again. “How?”

“And you thought that I didn’t have the hang of it,” Charlie scoffed. “Hello. I’m death, remember?” 

“Its so good to be home,” Gabriel said. “I am a big enough man to admit that I even missed you guys. Sam.” He pulled the stunned man into his arms. “Cas.” He moved onto the trench coat wearing angel. “Dean.”

Dean backed away rapidly. “Hell no.” 

“I’m hurt,” Gabriel pouted. “I came to help my newest brother and this is the welcome? Some love, guys. Really.” 

“He’s back?” Sam asked Charlie. “No clauses or expiration dates? The archangel Gabriel is alive?” 

“One hundred percent,” Charlie said nodding.

“Good,” Sam said. He turned around and landed a hard uppercut on the jaw of the messenger of God.

“Hey!” Gabriel stumbled back. He rubbed his jaw. “What was that for?”

“You left me,” Sam sneered. “You fought the devil and lost. You died, Gabriel! How do you think I was supposed to feel?”

“But I’m back, Sammy,” the angel said softly. “I’m here.” 

Sam walked over to the window. Dean saw him wince as he rubbed his hand. Those angel douches did have an unfair advantage, Dean thought. 

“Hey, Sam?” Dean said. “Why don’t you look around town and see if there is anything going on after unleashing the cloud? I’d go myself but…”

“You can barely move,” Sam finished. “Yeah, I’ll go see what I can find out.” He shot Dean a grateful look. “Call if anything happens.”

“We will,” Cas said. The room was quiet until the door shut.

“I feel like I missed something,” Charlie said. She looked back and forth between Dean, Cas, and Gabriel. “I thought that you guys would like the help.” 

“We do,” Dean reassured her. “Its just Sam has unfinished business with him.” 

“He missed you, brother,” Cas said to a quiet Gabriel. “Sam tried to hide it but he called out to you many times in his sleep.” 

“I wish that was enough,” Gabriel said. He seemed to shake himself off. “Any who, I’m here to help feathers over here, too.” He paused to examine Dean. “Nice plumage you’ve developed Dean-o.”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Dean grinned. He shrugged his shoulders. “So can I do the whole disappearing thing that you guys do?”

“I think you’re missing the point here,” Gabriel said tilting his head. “Dad told you that you’re the newest, most powerful archangel. Of course you’ll be able to fly, idiot. Your can do everything angels can do and more. All you need to do is learn how to.”

“And you’re going to teach me?”

“Me and Cassie here are your new mentors,” the former trickster said. His eyes twinkled. “This is going to be so much fun.” 

“On that note, I’ve got to go,” Charlie announced. “I guess becoming Death fills up your work schedule pretty quickly.” 

“Don’t be a stranger now that you’ve got such an important job, your reapness,” Dean said bowing. “I’ll always want to have you here.”

“You couldn’t keep me away,” Charlie said. “At least I don’t think you can. Can you keep death away? I thought it was pretty final but I guess now that I’m part of all of this supernatural stuff I should know that huh?” She shook her head. “Anyway, see ya later bitches!”


	5. The Truth Comes Out (Mostly)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas tell Gabriel about what has been happening since he was killed.

"Gabriel," Dean said slowly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're alive. Man, you died for us to get away. Sam blamed himself for years, he had nightmares for most of the time that I've had to sleep in the same room as him. So you might want to give him a couple days to get over the fact that you just came back from the dead."

"He's right, Gabriel," Castiel said. "Sam did have a hard time with your demise. I believe he was infatuated with you after the time at the mystery spot."  
"How could he be after what I did to him?" Gabriel said softly. "I killed his brother in front of him so many different ways that he should hate me for it. I killed you Dean, more times than anyone else. He should hate me for everything that I put him through.”

"Dude, he forgave you the moment you brought me back," Dean said. "I think that he knew you were trying to help him deal with my inevitable death the only way you knew how. And since I don't remember anything from all of my deaths, it wasn't something he continued to freak out about after you took on Lucifer himself and got us away from him. You told us about the rings. If anything, you are the reason we didn't say yes to Michael or Lucifer."

"Sam did," Castiel interrupted. "He said yes to Lucifer." 

"The fuck!" Gabriel yelled. "Why did he say yes to that douchnossel?" 

"Thanks for bringing that up, Cas," Dean muttered. He turned to look at the archangel. "Look, I didn't like it but Sam had made up his mind to do it. He said yes in Detroit and overpowered the devil in Kansas. He threw himself and the devil, along with Michael into the cage. My brother took out the devil." 

"Sam did?" Gabriel asked. He produced a small smile. "That's my moose." He wiped a hand over his face. "I always knew he had it in him. I wonder how Lucifer felt, being bested by a lowly hairless ape."

"Not really great," Dean said. "He spent the next year torturing Sam in the cage. I know he tortured Michael too." 

"How on earth did he get out of the cage?" 

"I got his body out of hell in the first week," Cas said. He turned around. "I had no idea that I didn't get all of him out of there." 

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked. Understanding dawned on his face. "You didn't get his soul out, did you?" 

"I had gotten out of the business," Dean said. "I tried to live a normal life but Sam showed up about a year later. He was different, not my little brother anymore. I had to come back to make sure he didn't get himself or anyone else killed. We managed to get Death to go into the cage and grab his soul out." 

"Death had built up a wall in Sam's head," Cas continued. "To keep the memories out. But I destroyed that too." 

"We forgave you," Dean said. He patted the angel's shoulder. "You've missed a lot of what has been going on around here." 

"I can tell," Gabriel said. "And now you're an archangel. That's got to be a pretty big kick."

"Its better than having the Mark of Cain," Dean said. "At least this way I don't feel like I need to kill tons of things just to stay sane."

"The mark? Boys, you do know how to have a good time," the archangel laughed. "So now we have to get rid of this darkness that has since taken over the world. Not too bad, huh?" 

"At least you and Charlie are alive now," Cas said. He leaned over to awkwardly hug his brother. "I missed you, brother. The world just wasn’t the same.” 

"I missed you too," Gabriel said returning the hug. "I can see that all of you were lost without me. I guess you don’t need me to help you get into trouble.” 

"Of course we were lost.” Dean rolled his eyes. "We could have used you to take on the leviathans."

"Leviathans!" Gabriel gasped. "I did miss all of the good stuff. But they're gone, yes?"

"Back in purgatory," Dean confirmed. "I've got to say that I don't miss those bastards." 

"Nor do I," Castiel said. "They gave us much trouble." 

"Understatement, Cas," Dean laughed. He turned sober. "Gabriel, do you know anything about this darkness? I all could find out from Death was that it was locked away and that the mark was the key. He wouldn't tell me anything else." 

"No," Gabriel said. "I don't know. But I do know that dear old Dad didn't ever lock away anything that didn't royally deserve it. Lucifer, the leviathans, they all needed to be locked away because they wanted to destroy his creations. I can't imagine that this is any different." 

"What about what is happening to Dean?" Cas asked. "What is going to happen next?" 

"He's going to start growing big guns of course," the former trickster said. He rolled his eyes. "He's already grown big ass wings. Next will be the powers of the new head archangel. He'll be able to do things that none of us has probably ever been able to do. All I know is that Dean-o just got a major power up. We're going to have to take things as they come."

"That sounds promising," Dean said sighing. "I'm glad that I'm the new science experiment around here."

"Somebody has to be," Sam said from the doorway. "I'm damned glad that it isn't going to be me this time. Just be glad you're not a demon again." 

"Sammy--" 

"Save it, Gabriel," Sam said interrupting him. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet. How are we going to stop this stuff?" 

"I guess we're going to have to start teaching Dean how to master his new powers." Gabriel looked at the older hunter. "How do you feel about moving?" 

"Moving where?" Dean asked confused. "Our old place is under lock down for a while until we figure out if it still has demons and junk in it." 

"Is this place safe?" Gabriel said. "I mean like how protected was it before this thing got unleashed?"

”It was the safest place on earth," Sam said. "It was warded against everything known to man. It has books on everything you can imagine. I didn’t like leaving it.” 

"Take me there, Cassie," Gabriel demanded. "I'll figure out if it is still a safe place to be." 

"But..." 

The two angels were gone in a flap. Dean and Sam looked at each other. Dean shrugged. "I'd feel safer at the bunker than anywhere else." 

"Me too," Sam said. "I hate that we had to leave there and that we've been stuck in this crappy motel room for days."

“I wonder what’s got them in a hough,” Dean wondered out loud.

“You mean besides the unleashing of a force so evil that even God couldn’t destroy it? I don’t know. They just seem like that all the time,” Sam said sympathetically. "Try calming one down while the love of his life is unconscious. That was a trip."

"Love of his life? Really Sam?" He laughed. "That's saying something for a guy who's as old as time."

"Dean, that angel loves you." Sam sighed. He shook his head. “Why can’t the two of you see what is going on?”

“What is going on, Sam?” Dean demanded. “All of these people coming and going. Leaving with their feathers in a twist. Even if the guy likes me, he has a funny way of showing it.”

"Neither one of you can see what is front of them, can you?" Sam said sadly. He sank into the only armchair in the room. "I wish you two could let go of your insecurities long enough to just let things happen."


	6. A Little Bundle of Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finds out that not all decorations are fake.

“I hope you don’t mind but I added a few decorations,” Gabriel said unapologetically. He flopped into a chair at the main table and pulled a sugary soda from the air. “I didn’t like the military chic you guys were rockin’.” 

“What did you do?” Dean demanded. He walked into the room but stopped to look at all of the pictures displayed on the walls. “Gabriel…how?” There were photos of his mom and dad when they had started dating. More of them with Dean and then Sam. Bobby, Ellen, and Jo all had there places on the wall. Awards were scattered in between all of them. 

“Hello, its me you’re talking about,” the former trickster said. He nodded his head at the wall. “I have my ways.” He smirked. “You probably don’t really want to know how I got all of them really.” 

Even the angel’s sass couldn’t bring Dean down. “Thank you.” 

“How are there pictures of me here?” Castiel asked confused. “I don’t remember anyone having a camera.” 

“I pulled some of them from memories,” Gabriel said simply. He shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard to do. I thought you might like it.” He looked over the place again. “It needed more of a homey touch. The place was giving me hives.” 

Dean walked over to Cas. The angel was staring at a picture with him and Dean in it. That day was probably the most relaxed they had ever been. It was just before Sam had said ‘yes’ and jumped in the cage. Both of them were smiling. “This is amazing.” 

“Hey, Gabriel?” Sam said pointing. “How did you fake a diploma?”

“I didn’t fake it,” the angel said. “I found it in down here and decided that it was required to be on the wall.” 

“What?” Dean asked curious. 

“Your fake degrees,” Sam said. “What case were you working on that required you to have a degree? It must have been when you were still working with dad.”

“Sam—“

“They’re not fake,” Castiel interrupted. 

“Of course they are,” Sam said. “Dean never went to college.” 

“Sambo, my boy, you need to keep up,” Gabriel said. He walked over to stand next to Sam. “Not only has Dean gone to college but he has a higher education level than you do.” 

“What? But that’s not possible, he would have told me,” Sam said shaking his head. “Dean didn’t want to go to college. He said that it was for me.” 

“He is standing right here thank you,” Dean said. He glared at the devious little man. Leave it to Gabriel to make this into a problem. “The truth is, Sam, that I got a bachelor’s degree in engineering online. It was useful to hunt really. There were things that I needed to make to help dad and it came in handy. Let me tell you it was a bitch just making sure that the college thought they were being paid.” 

“What about the other two?” Sam asked pointing at the frames. “When did you get a bachelor’s degree in European literature and…” he squinted at the small wording on the paper. “A master’s degree in engineering? Did dad need those too?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his neck. “I took a couple extra classes for the lit one. You wouldn’t believe how much that has helped me when we hunt. The master’s degree I finished while I was staying with Lisa. It seemed like the thing to do. I was bored and it filled the void that hunting left behind.” 

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Sam demanded. “All of this time you made me think that you hated school! And that you didn’t want to do anything except hunt! Why did you lie to me? Did you think that I would make fun of you or something? Why Dean?”

“Because college was your’s,” Dean said. He didn’t want to get into this now. All he wanted to do was relax with everyone before they started training. He sighed. “Dad was mad enough as it was that you left to go to college, if he found out that I took classes he would have lost it. I did what I could to make sure we all stayed alive while we were hunting. Did you ever think that maybe I love learning about things? That reading is one of the only ways I get to escape from this life? Or that I wanted to be able to prevent us from being killed by making something that would track ghosts easier? Screw you Sam.” 

“Dean, wait!” Sam yelled but Dean was already heading to the garage. He needed to fix something, or break it. He just couldn’t stand the attitude anymore. Can I still get drunk? He grabbed a bottle just in case. 

*Castiel*

“Really, Sam, you think that was fair?” Gabriel asked. He marched the tall human against the wall. “Do you really think that he doesn’t have enough crap to think about that he needs to get the third degree from you about getting an education? After all you did to him just so you could have one yourself? I guess that he was right to hide that from you if this is how you’re going to respond to it. You great big bag of dicks!” 

Castiel just watched his brother leave. He could and would be patient for his time to confront the younger Winchester. “Sam. I have watched you for years. I watched you take off with Ruby, I watched you start the apocalypse, I watched you try to stop it. I watched you save the world. I turned away from you when you were soulless because I was ashamed of what I had done to you. But what you just did, that was worse than anything you did while you were soulless.”

“Now hold on!” 

“No, Sam,” Cas said sharply. “You just tore down the one person who has always been there for you. Dean loves you more than anything in the world and you treated him like trash! I guess he had a good reason not tell you about it.”

“You’re right,” Sam whispered. He sat down at the long table. “Dean was right to hide it from me. I just can’t believe that he did it. All I wanted for him was to do something for himself. He has taken care of me for my whole life. But he did it. Dean did something for himself. I’m so proud of him.” 

“Then why did you get so upset?” Castiel asked. 

“Because he didn’t tell me,” Sam said. “It doesn’t make sense but I just really want to know about him. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know him at all. My brother has a master’s degree in engineering. Cas, do you know how hard that must have been? I always knew that he was smart but all of these years I didn’t think that he saw it too.” 

“I’m not sure that he does,” Cas said slowly. He sat down at the table across from Sam. “I’m sure in Dean’s mind he just did what he had to do to protect the ones he loves.   
He learned how to make things and how to do research better. Doesn’t that sound like the Dean Winchester we know?” 

“That sounds more like him,” Sam agreed. He pushed his hair back. “He’s always been the one to fall on his sword if something needed to be done. I know he saw some of it as a way for him to be useful and to protect dad. That doesn’t make it less amazing though.” 

“You should go tell him this,” Cas prodded. “I’m sure he would like to know that you don’t think he’s stupid.”

“Knowing Dean he probably needs some time to cool off before I talk to him about this again,” Sam said sadly. “I’ll talk to him in a day or two after I’ve had a chance to let this sink in a little better. Besides, you know how hard it is to get Dean to talk about his feelings.” 

“If that’s the way you feel about it,” Cas agreed reluctantly. He just hoped that they didn’t put this off for too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I took some liberties here with Dean's education. I just feel like he is capable of more than what most people know and it would be fitting if he were to have secretly gone to college. Please don't hate me...


	7. The Angel Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is trying like hell to get a hang of these new powers but nothing is working. But when Sammy gets himself into trouble, will Dean be able to help?

“I’m never going to get it,” Dean huffed. He kicked a rock into the trees. They had been going at it for hours and still Dean couldn’t make any progress on “flying”. “I suck at this angel thing.” 

“I don’t know why you picked the hardest thing to do,” Gabriel said. He popped a sucker into his mouth. “Even smiting is easier than this!” 

“Hey guys!” Sam said. He was coming from the bunker. 

“Hey Samsquatch,” Gabriel said. “What brings you to this neck of the woods? Get it? Cuz we’re in the woods.”

“Very clever,” Dean muttered. “Whatcha need Sammy?” 

“I need to get a few ingredients for this spell that I found in the books,” the young Winchester explained. “I had hoped that we could take the angel express and save a few days travel.”

“Not with me you’re not,” Dean said. 

“Having trouble?” Sam asked sympathetically. 

“If he would just try something else first,” Gabe complained. “But no, your bother wants to learn how to fly.”

“Why don’t you take him, Gabriel?” Cas suggested. “Dean and I can stay here and work on this.”

“Oh, good,” Gabriel said. “I could use a break. Just don’t let him have too much of one.” Gabriel nodded at Dean and tapped the younger hunter. “Toodles.” They both disappeared.

“Is it?” Dean asked Cas. The angel had been strangely quiet the whole time. “Is this really harder than smiting?What do you think?”

“I think that you are much to hard on yourself,” Cas said. “You have just been turned into an angel. Just try to relax and see what comes.” 

“I am relaxed.” 

“Dean,” Cas said raising an eyebrow at him. “Why is it that you want to do this first? Why do you want to learn how to fly first?”

“I have to.”

“Not good enough,” Cas said tightly. He crossed his arms. “You need to tell me what is so important to you that you have to prove that you can fly!”

“Because I want to see them okay?” Dean yelled. “I want to see my parents and Bobby. Maybe Ellen and Jo. I need to see them now that I can.”

“Why Dean?”

“I want to know if they are ashamed of me,” Dean whispered. “Of what I’ve become.”

“How could anybody be ashamed of you?” Castiel asked stunned. “You’re my best friend. The best man that I know. Sam has risked his life time and again for you. God thought enough of you that he made you his most powerful archangel. Nobody is ashamed of you Dean. We love you.” 

“I just need to see them,” Dean said turning away. He couldn’t stand to see the raw emotions in the angel’s eyes. “Help me, please.” 

Cas started to say more but his cell phone rang. He frowned at the screen but answered. “You were just here Gabriel—“

“Bro, we need help,” Gabriel yelled. “We popped in on a swarm of demons and we’re being overrun. Need you now!” He hung up.

“Where are they?” Dean demanded. Cas just shook his head. 

“You need to listen,” Cas said sternly. “Sam is probably praying to you right now. Just listen and let him pull you to them.”

Dean growled. Listen? Who the fuck wants to listen when Sam needs help? But a glare from the angel kept him quiet. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his brother. Almost instantly Sam’s voice flooded into Dean’s mind.

‘God I can’t believe I’m doing this but here it goes,’ Sam prayed. ‘I pray to the archangel Dean to come and help us. We’re being attacked by demons. Come please.’ 

Dean felt the tug of his brother’s soul and followed it. Instantly he and Cas were next to Sam in a small store but surrounded by demons. “Heyya Sammy! Need a little help?” 

“It worked,” Sam said beaming. “Told you, Gabriel.” 

“Yeah, yeah, big bad archangel came to save the day,” Gabriel sassed. “Big deal. Now do something to help already!” 

Movement caught Dean’s eye. “Crowley? What are you doing here?” Dean asked surprised. “I’m glad you’re alive, man.” 

“Really, squirrel, after you tried to kill me?” Crowley drawled. “You’re happy to see the demon that your brother and then your angel tried to kill? I don’t bloody think so.” 

“Its the truth,” Dean said. “I never wanted you dead. If nothing else I considered you a friend.” 

“Let me let you in on a little secret, Dean,” Crowley said. “Friends don’t kill friends.” He turned to look at his demon horde. “Kill them!” 

“Okay, so no reasoning with the king of hell,” Dean said. “Got it.” He looked at Cas. “How do I smite these guys?” 

“You’ve gotta place your hand on their head,” Cas explained. “And then picture your grace flooding them.”

“Awesome,” he said. He stepped up to one of the demons and grabbed his head. “Cover me!” Then Dean pictured all of that light flooding the demon woman in front of him. 

“Can’t get it up Winchester?” the woman taunted. “Did someone forget to take their little blue pill? I hear this is a common thing in males your age.” She laughed. 

“Go to hell bitch,” Dean said. He pushed his mind into the body in front of him. Light poured out of their eyes as they began to scream. Finally the body fell limply to the floor, just an empty husk. “You’re right, Gabriel. Smiting is easier than flying.” 

“Good for you,” Gabriel said with a smile. “Lets get to it then.” 

The three angels and the human spread out, Sam started hacking through the demons who came at him. Dean and the others, however, started smiting everything that came at them. Dean glanced over at Cas just in time to see a demon come up behind him and stab him in the back. “Cas!” Dean saw red, then it all turned to white. 

“Cover your eyes!” Gabe yelled and tackled Sam to the ground. “Don’t look at him!” 

The entire store lit up like a super nova. When it finally ended, Dean slumped to the ground and all the meat suits laid on the ground. Crowley was nowhere to be found. Dean looked over to see Gabriel gently pull Sam to his feet. 

“You okay, Sammy?” Dean croaked out. His throat was dry and each word seemed to take a ton of effort to force out. 

“Yeah, Dean, I’m fine,” Sam said. “I think we just found out why you’re the most powerful archangel though.”

“Cas!” Dean spun around to find Castiel right beside him. “Are you alright? I saw that demon stab you but I couldn’t tell if it was an angel blade or not.”

“My body is good,” Castiel said awkwardly. “It was just a metal knife.”

“That’s all fine and dandy,” Gabriel said. “But when are we going to address the fact that Dean just super fried all of those demons with white light? These humans are still alive by the way, you didn’t harm a single one.” 

“They’re alive?” Dean asked relieved. He was glad that his new power didn’t kill all of the humans the demons had taken. “Awesome.”

“I think that Cassie and I will send them back home,” Gabe said nodding at his brother. “Hopefully they’ll all think that this was just a bad dream.” 

“Dean,” Cas said, “do you think that you can get Sam and yourself back to the bunker? I fear that this might take a good bit of time to accomplish.” 

“I think so,” Dean said waving Sam over. “Okay, so I just picture the bunker right?” 

“I don’t know about this,” Sam said. “I don’t want to end up in another mess today.” 

“Shut up, bitch.” Dean smiled. “I can get us home.” 

“Yes just picture the bunker,” Castiel said ignoring the two. “And pull yourself there. You can do it.” 

Dean grabbed Sam’s arm. “You guys be safe.” He closed his eyes and imagined pulling himself and his brother home. Sam gasped. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sam said quickly. “You did it. I just can’t imagine you flying around like that. I thought it was going to take awhile for you to learn with the way it was going this morning.”

Dean opened his eyes. They were standing in the bunker’s kitchen. “Alright! I could use a sandwich.” Sam rolled his eyes. “What? I just vaporized a fuck ton of demons. I’m hungry.”

“Give the guy heavenly powers and all he wants is a sandwich,” Sam sighed. “Fine, I’ll make you one. You look like you’re about to fall over right there.” 

“Don’t forget the pie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm trying to update this story at least once a week. Seeing how I'm currently in nursing school and have a crap ton of homework, I'm not sure I'll be able to do it each week. So I'm sorry in advance if I miss a week. (:


	8. Stairway to Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean receives an unexpected welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little longer than the others. I just felt the characters had a whole lot more to say with what was happening!

Dean found Sam asleep using a pile of old books as a pillow. He smiled. Sam was doing everything he could to find a solution to the darkness that had been released. Dean knew that he felt responsible but he was just glad that both he and Sam were still alive. They’d fix the world again. God only knew how many times they had messed it up to begin with. 

Dean quickly wrote out a short note telling his brother where he had gone and sat it by his computer. He walked outside and looked at the sky. “Okay, dad, its time for us to talk.” And with that, Dean flew to heaven. It was different than he remembered it. Of course the last time Dean and Sam had been on the run from the god squad. No this time Dean could see each individual heaven. 

It didn't take him long to find him once he started looking. Dean found his dad in their old house. It looked just like he remembered from his childhood, nice clean paint and the yard was pristine. There was even a tire swing hanging from the tree in the front yard. It was perfect. Dean could see John sitting in a lounge chair through the window. He knocked on the door.

"Coming!" 

Dean waited for his dad to open the door. John's jaw dropped. "Dean! What are you doing here? Are you dead? What the fuck did you do boy?” 

Dean shook his head. "Dad, I'm not dead. I'm here to see you and mom."

"Why are you here? How did you get here anyway?" John looked around. "Where's Sammy?"

Dean hung his head. "Sam's fine, I left him at the bunker. I'm fine too, just in case you were wondering."

"Of course I can tell you're fine," his dad said. "You're standing right in front of me. What bunker?"

"Sam and I have our home base at the Men of Letters compound in Lebanon." Dead started walking down the path. "Dear old Granddad came and met us. He was a man of letters too. Apparently we're legacies." 

"I'm not even going to pretend to know what that means," he said. "What are you doing here though? Just thought you'd pop into the neighborhood to say 'hi'?"

"Yeah I pretty much did," Dean said. "Where's mom?"

"She's hanging out with Ellen," John said. "They became fast friends really. And Kate too." 

"So she wasn't mad about the whole baby daddy thing?" Dean asked surprised. "I thought she'd at least be a little upset."

"She was upset," John said, "with me. She was so angry at how I treated you boys and then favored Adam. She was right pissed at me."

"As she should have been," Dean said smiling. "Someone needed to give you a piece of their minds. I just wish I had been able to see it."

"I think Sam would have too," John said smiling. "Why are you here son?"

"I wanted to see you," Dean said. "You, mom, Ellen, Bobby, even Jo. I wanted to see you all and find out how you're doing here. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because you're still alive," he said. "You’re time will come eventually and then we can see each other all of the time. There's no reason why you should be here now." 

"That's not entirely true," Dean said softly. He rubbed the top of his head. 

"What?"

"That's going to be kind of hard," he said. "I'm not human anymore."

John scoffed. "Of course you're human. Only humans can enter heaven. Did you forget everything that I taught you?"

"Angels can," Dean murmured. 

"But you're not an angel."

"Actually he is," Gabriel said popping up quietly behind them. "Dean is the newest and most powerful archangel. You should be proud."

"How exactly did you manage that?" John laughed cruelly. "You don't even have a college education. You're just a high school drop out and a failure of a hunter."

"So help me, dad," Gabriel growled. He began advancing on the human. "You are a pigheaded, arrogant, old man. I never realized how significantly you screwed up as a parent until just now. Dean has stopped the apocalypse, killed the mother of all monsters, killed a knight of hell, and borne the Mark of Cain. He raised Sam into the man he is today. He has saved so many people along the way, including the world."

"Its okay, Gabe," Dean said softly. He was touched at the former trickster's defense of his life. "Dad never did understand me. I was never good enough for him."

"That's not true--"

"You're no better than the things we used to hunt," John spat. "I should have realized that a long time ago." 

“You’re one bitter fucker.” Dean shook his head sadly. "The sad part of this is that you don't even realize how much you've lost along the way." He turned but halted at the door. "And for your own information, I have two bachelor's degrees and a master's in engineering."

Dean left his father gaping. He didn't even feel satisfied with it like he thought he would. There were many times in his life that Dean just wished he’d told his father off. John Winchester never really took the time to get to know Dean. That hurt more than he ever thought it would. Gabriel walked beside him.

"I thought my dad was bad," Gabe said shaking his head. "But this is sad. I didn't think he would actually talk to you like that."

"I thought he might be happy to see me, you know?" he sighed. "That he might be proud of me. I've done everything that I possibly could to make that man proud. I've been the best hunter I could be, I always protected Sammy too. What more does he want of me?"

"I don't know, Deano," Gabriel said quietly. "Sometimes dads don't make sense. I can't believe he would say something like that though. You've done so much for this world, you're nothing like the monsters that you've hunted in the past. Don't ever think that." 

Dean continued to walk along. He could see the the Roadhouse in the distance. "Maybe Mom and Ellen will be happier to see me than Dad."

"If not then there's no point in coming back is there?" Gabriel asked. "I know you wanted to see him, but if this is the way he's going to treat you then I don't want you to see him."

Dean squinted at the angel. Gabriel had been acting very weird ever since Dean had decided that he wanted to go to heaven to see his family. Dean couldn't put his finger on it but Gabriel was starting to creep him out. "Why does it matter so much to you anyway? I thought you didn't even like me."

He flinched. "Nobody should be treated like that by family." With that the former trickster vanished. 

Dean shrugged and kept moving. He wasn't in the mood to figure out why the archangel was suddenly trying to comfort him. He finally spotted the Roadhouse. It was close to his parents heaven. Dean braced himself at the door and then walked in.

The last time he had been here, Ash had the place all to himself. Dean had been confused to see him there instead of Ellen or Jo. But he had helped them out when they needed it. This time the Roadhouse was full of people. Ash must have been able to find everyone and get them there. Jo and Ellen were laughing and playing a game of pool, Mary was standing there watching them, and Adam was drinking a beer with Ash. Bobby was the first to notice Dean standing at the door. 

"Damn boy, what did you do to get here?" Bobby said. He walked over to Dean and pulled him into a hug. "How did you die this time you idjit?"

“This time?" Dean asked confused. He remembered what Ash had told him years ago. "How many times have I actually died?"

"More times than I'd care to count," Bobby admitted. "But you always find us. I can always count on you coming here."

"I didn't come here first," Dean said slowly. "And this time I'm not dead."

“What did you do?" Jo asked. "I know you and Sam were having problems but he must be worried sick looking for you." 

"Nah, Sam knows that I'm here," Dean said with a grin. "He told me to tell you guys hi and that he missed you."

"Well we miss you guys too," Bobby said frowning. "Buy why are you here? Aren't you busy trying to get rid of the Mark?"

"Mark? What mark?" Mary asked coming over. She pulled Dean into a big hug. "I've missed you but I didn't want to see you until you were done on earth."

"I know momma," he said. "They're talking about the Mark of Cain. I took it so I could kill Abbadon. She was a knight of hell."

"The Mark of Cain?" she repeated and narrowed her eyes at her son. "Cain? The first murderer? That mark?" 

"Yes," Dean said sheepishly. "I know it was dumb but there was no other way to stop her! She was hell bent on taking over hell and then unleashing it upon the world. What was I supposed to do?"

"It doesn't really matter too much, Mary," Bobby interrupted. "Dean did it already and successfully killed that bitch. The most important question is, is it gone?"

"Yeah," Dean admitted. "Sam went ahead and got rid of it."

"Good for him," the older hunter said. "I knew that he would." 

"That's our Sammy," he said. "All he did was unlock the cage of the very first evil that God couldn't destroy and just barely managed to cage. But no big deal right?"

"What?" All of the hunters in the room yelled. 

"What are you talking about boy?" Ellen said loudly. “You need to start making sense.” 

"The mark was the key to a cage that God and the archangels used to contain the most powerful evil that they had ever seen," Dean explained. "I tried to stop Sam from completing the ritual but it was too late."

"Its always the end of the world with you two, isn't it?" Ellen shook her head. 

"Not to put a damper on this," Jo said quietly. "But why are you here, Dean? You said you aren't dead. You shouldn’t be here.”

"Nope," Dean said. He smiled a little then. “I’m just an archangel."

"Bullshit," Bobby said. "Why are you here?" 

"Because I wanted to see you guys," Dean said. "And being an archangel made doing that possible."

"I don't understand," Mary said. "Why are you saying you're an archangel?"

”Because God decided that not only would it be a good idea to make me one but to also make me the new boss," he said. Dean sat down on a barstool. "Michael called him from the cage that Sam and I put him in and said that he wanted to be mortal, so that's what happened. God talked to me and said that he didn't want to get rid of the grace but to give it to me. And I said yes."

Bobby sat down next to him. The old man sighed. "That's not something you hear everyday."

"No kidding." Dean nodded. "Once I got down the basics on my powers, you guys were my first stop. I needed to see that you were okay."

"We're fine," Adam said from the other side of the bar by the pool table. "I mean we're in heaven and I hear that is far better than the alternative."

"Trust me when I tell you that you're right," Dean said gruffly. 

"We weren't your first stop up here, were we?" Mary asked softly. She ran a soft hand through his hair. "You saw your dad too."

"I did," he admitted. "I wish to God that I didn't stop to see him but I did."

"What did that son of a bitch do?" Bobby demanded. "I swear he keeps doing these things to everyone he cared about."

"He told me that I was dumb," Dean whispered. He tried to hide the burning in his eyes. He always knew that his dad didn't like him, Dean felt like he was lacking his whole life. But he never thought that John would talk to him like that, say those things to him. "That I wasn't any better than what we hunt."

"Son of a bitch!" Mary swore. "I can't believe that bastard!" She pulled Dean into a hug. "Now you listen here, you are my son. I am so proud of you and who you've become. Don't let anything that man says to you make you feel bad."

"She's right, Dean," Ellen said putting a beer on the counter. "He's been really bitter about being up here out of the game. Even though he's been reunited with his dead wife, John still doesn't want to be up here. You'd think he would be over it by now." 

"He was really weird about me disappearing with Michael too," Adam added. He shrugged. "I didn't really talk to him before I left heaven. Neither one of us made any effort to talk to each other."

"That sucks," Dean said sadly. "But that's not really any different than how I grew up with him. We were his soldiers."

"I didn't want you in this life, Dean," Mary said. "I wanted my kids and your dad as far away from hunting as I could get you."

"It wasn't your fault, Mom," Dean said. "Dad wanted to find the thing that killed you that night. He would have done anything to get revenge for what it did to us."

“That doesn’t mean that don’t wish that I could have stopped it from happening,” she argued. She shook her head. “Enough going on about what we can’t change, tell me about what’s been going on with you. Tell me everything.” 

“Didn’t you hear everything from these yayhoos?” Dean smiled. “All hunters are a bunch of gossips.”

“Dean Winchester, I can still whoop your butt!” Ellen slapped the back of his head. “Now tell your momma everything.”


	9. Th Trickster is Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel has some fun and Dean is telling stories...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always this work is un beta'd. All mistakes are my own (: All comments are welcome!!

*Gabriel* 

The messenger of God flew away from Dean in a rage. How dare someone treat their kid like that? Gabriel's inner trickster couldn't be restrained, that jackass needed a reality check. 

"John Winchester," Gabriel yelled. He pushed the door open and walked into the old house. "Come out!" 

John appeared at the top of the stairs. He sneered at the angel standing in the open doorway. "What do you want? I don't want to talk to Dean again, so you can just leave if that's what you're here for."

"By dad, I didn't realize how fucked up you were," Gabe said shaking his head. "I can't believe your sons turned out so well despite being raised by you."

"If all you came here for was to insult me," he spat, "you can just leave. I don't want anything to do with your kind." 

"Considering that I'm an archangel and your sitting pretty here in heaven, I'm sure you had plenty to do with my kind," Gabe said. He started pacing. "You don't even know what you're missing do you? The first thing that Dean wanted to learn when he became an archangel was how to get up here. He wanted to see you and his mom. Dean wanted to see everyone he loves again." 

"So you're telling me that he's a pansy too?" John said puffing up. "I don't want anything to do with him." 

"You're going to regret saying that," Gabriel said ominously. The room darkened and his eyes began to glow. "John Winchester, I am sending you to relive your sons' lives since your passing. You cannot be seen, you cannot affect the outcome but you will spend every moment reliving the hell that they had to go through." 

"You don't have the juice," John spat. 

“Enjoy your little vacation from heaven,” he said. Gabriel snapped his fingers. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall when John realized how screw he was. He might not be a trickster anymore but doing something like this felt really good. John needed to understand what he had missed. 

With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel flew back to Sam and Castiel feeling more satisfied than he had in days. 

"Gabe?" Sam looked up from his books. He had been trying to find any books that would help them. The thunderous look on the angel's face surprised him. "What's wrong? I thought you were going up to heaven with Dean. Did something happen?" 

"I did," Gabe sighed. He needed something to calm himself. He snapped his fingers and a chocolate bar popped into his hand. "That's better." Munching on his treat, he looked at his two friends. "We made it there all right. And promptly the great John Winchester proceeded to insult your brother. Said he wasn't anything better than the things you hunt."

"Son of a bitch!" Sam jumped up. "How can he even say that? Dean and I have saved the world so many times! What, does he think that Dean being an archangel is wrong? That he's a monster now? Bullshit!" 

"That's what I said," Gabe said. "I took Dean to the Roadhouse, everyone else was there. Boy, your mom and Bobby were pissed."

"Tell me that you didn't let John get away with that?" Sam demanded. "Tell me that he's roasting in hell right now." 

"Now, Sam, you're making me think that you're endorsing my trickster ways," Gabe said smiling softly. "He isn't roasting in hell. But I bet he's rueing the day that he said that to Dean in front of me."

"What did you do?"

"I sent him back to the day that he died," Gabe explained. "He's reliving every moment that you two have but he can't change anything."

"So you're like the ghost of Christmas past, huh?" Sam said laughing. 

"Now Sammy, if you want to see me in chains just say so," the angel said with a smirk. "But that's the idea. I want him to see everything that's been going on. I think by the end of it, he'll be singing a different tune."

"Thank you, Gabriel," Castiel said softly. "I know that Dean will appreciate it when he hears what you did."

"You're welcome, Cassie." 

"If you think you can handle it, I'm going to find Dean."

"Sure thing Cas," Sam said. "We'll be --" 

But Castiel was already gone. Gabe smiled. His brother was turning into a good man. He clapped his hands together. “So how long until they realize that they’re it for each other?” he asked Sam.

“You’d have thought they would have by now,” Sam sighed. “But my brother is emotionally constipated and your’s is oblivious to everything else but Dean.” 

“Isn’t it wonderful?” 

 

*Castiel*

He landed right outside the doorway to the Roadhouse. Castiel had been keeping tabs on the occupants for some time now. Dean didn’t know that Cas came here every so often just to make sure their friends were still there. He had to make sure that his enemies didn’t use them again, like Crowley did with Bobby. 

Laughter echoed from inside. Cas pushed the door open and looked around. The bar wasn’t much different than it had been on Earth, maybe just a little cleaner. All of their friends gathered around a barstool that Dean currently occupied. Cas just watched. 

“And then Sam looks at me and says ‘I lost my shoe’,” Dean roared. “He had this damn puppy dog eyed look on his face too.” 

The others laughed. Ellen wiped tears from her eyes. “I’ve never heard that one!” 

Dean took another swig of beer before his eyes caught Cas standing there. “Cas! C’mere, I have a couple of people that you haven’t met yet.” 

Cas allowed himself to join the group. “You know Ellen, Jo, and Bobby of course,” Dean said. “This is Ash, a computer whiz and Adam, you met for a few minutes.” Both men nodded. Dean turned him to face a women who looked remarkable like the older Winchester brother. “This is my mom, Mary. Mom this is Cas, the angel who’s saved my butt more times than I can count.” 

Mary shared a look with Ellen. “So this is the angel I have to thank for taking care of my boy here and raising him from hell?” 

“Dean has saved me many times, Mrs. Winchester,” Castiel said. “But yes, I raised him from perdition.” 

She pulled him into a surprisingly tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. 

“You’re welcome.” Cas awkwardly patted her on the back. Dean must have seen how uncomfortable he was because he started pulling Mary away. 

“So Cas what brings you here?” Bobby asked. 

“Gabriel told me what happened,” Cas explained. “I just wanted to make sure Dean was okay.” 

“I’m fine,” Dean said. He took another drink. “You want one?” he indicated his beer. Cas shook his head.

“You’re not fine,” Mary said sternly. “I’ll kick his ass for what he did to you.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Cas interrupted. 

“Why? What did you do?” Dean asked curiously. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Castiel denied. He shrugged. “But Gabriel did.”

“I should have known,” Dean said with a smile. “You know what he did?”

“I think he said something about sending him back in time,” Castiel said, “that he needed to relive what had happened to you since his death.”

“Like watching TV?” Bobby asked. “He can’t change anything can he?”

“No but he must watch.” 

“That should shut him up!” Jo banged her hand on the table. “I was started to get tired of his attitude anyway.” 

“We’ll see,” Dean muttered looking pale. “Hey Cas, don’t we need to continue working on my angel powers?”

“What?” Cas asked surprised. He caught Dean staring at him. “Oh yes, we should probably do that. You will need to be ready quickly.” 

Dean gave his mother a hug. “I’ll be back soon to see you again.”

“You better be,” Mary whispered. “We have a lot of catching up to do.” 

“You better be back to have a drink with us Winchester,” Ellen said sternly. “Gives us something to do up here.” 

“I will be,” he promised. He turned to Cas. “Are you ready, man?” Cas nodded. “Bye everyone!” 

Castiel started to fly away back to the bunker when a hand hijacked him elsewhere.


	10. A Peaceful Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean asks a question that he has been dying to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter. As always this is unedited, all mistakes are my own. Feel free to send me comments if you find any and I will correct them!

*Dean* 

Dean landed and heard Cas gasp beside him. He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. “What’s wrong, Cas?”

“Dean, where are we?” Cas asked cautiously. 

“At the Grand Canyon,” Dean said. He looked around. They stood on the peak of one of the tallest rocks overlooking a river. The sun was just starting to light up the sky. “Isn’t it awesome?” 

“It is,” the angel agreed. “But I thought we were going to work on your angel powers. At least that’s what we told everyone back in heaven.” 

“We will,” he said sitting down. He sighed. “I just needed a few minutes of peace after the day that I had. Kind of get time to wrap my head around everything. Sammy would never give me time to do that back at the bunker.” 

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Dean said quickly. He blushed and rubbed his neck. “I actually wanted to talk to you too.” 

“What about?” Castiel asked sitting next to him. 

Dean felt himself relax. He couldn’t believe how much he had missed this, how easy going they were together. It was never this easy, not even with Sam. “I wanted to apologize for what I said to you. You have to know that I didn’t mean it. I would never kill you, Cas, never.”

“I know that Dean,” Cas said with a small smile. “You were upset about Charlie’s death. I know I should have stopped it.”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Dean said stopping him. He leaned into the warmth that radiated off of his friend. “You can’t stop every bad thing that happens in this world.”

“Neither can you,” the angel whispered. “Dean, you’re not to blame for this happening either. Sam, Charlie, me, even Death, we all make our own choices. Its not your responsibility to clean up after us. We’re going to help you fix this, Dean. Together.” 

“Together,” Dean said. “I like that. And thank you.” Dean’s stomach fluttered when Cas tilted his head. “For getting rid of the mark, you know? It was turning me into a monster.”

“You’re welcome,” Cas said. “You did fight it well. I know you did not expect to last that long.” 

“It took a lot out of me,” Dean said. He shook his head.“I just wanted it to end. And then with the offer that Death made me, I almost did it. I almost killed Sammy. How will he ever forgive me? Why would he even want to?”

“Sam would forgive you many things,” Cas said confidently. “He is your brother, Dean. You killed Death so you would not have to kill him. I think you more than made up for it.” Cas patted him on the back. “He loves you Dean.” 

Dean shook his head. “Maybe.”

“No maybes, Dean,” the angel said sharply. “My father made you into his archangel because of everything that you have done for this earth. If you were something so truly terrible as you think, would he have done that? You are deserving of everything that you have been given.” 

“Even you?” Dean whispered. He looked away immediately. He wanted to run but Dean wanted to hear his answer more. 

“You have to ask me that?” Castiel asked. He pulled on Dean’s arm. “Look at me.” Dean turned to look into those deep blue eyes that had been haunting him for years. “I have given up everything for you, Dean. You are my friend and the best person in my life.”

“What if I want more?” Dean’s eyes were wide. He didn’t mean to ask that out loud. “More than a friend, I mean.” 

“Do you mean that?” Castiel asked. The angel didn’t blink, Dean doubted that stopped staring at people even when Cas was human himself. “Do you want more with me, Dean?” 

Dean swallowed hard. “Y-yes,” he stuttered. It wasn’t as hard for him to admit as he thought it would be. This was Cas, the man, er angel, who had been with him for all of these years. He needed Cas in his life and wanted him as something more to him, had been wanting that for almost as long as he had known the angel. “I do want more.” 

Dean leaned forward and slanted his mouth over Castiel's. The angel hesitated to return the kiss. Dean softened his lips and gently began coaxing Cas's tongue out. 

"Dean," Cas moaned. Then Dean was being pressed back and a fully grown man was in his lap. "So good."

"That's it," Dean said and ran his hands up Cas's back. He arched into Dean pressing his chest and his growing erection into him. “Come on.” 

Castiel took over the kiss with a fierceness that Dean didn’t know he possessed. His hands were all over Dean. All he could do was hang on for the ride. After several minutes, Dean’s lungs burned from lack of air. 

He pulled back and took a deep breath. “That was amazing.” 

Cas had a rather pleased look on his face. “I’m glad I could rock your world.” 

“You sure did,” Dean said. “I want to take you on a date,” he said suddenly. “A real date at a restaurant.” 

“Okay,” Cas agreed. “Whenever you want.”

“We shouldn’t rush this either,” he said slowly. “You’re not some one night stand to me. I want to do this right.” 

“I know I’m not,” the angel reassured him. He kissed Dean on the cheek. “But we can do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. That is what boyfriends are supposed to do right? Make their significant others comfortable?”

“Boyfriend?” Dean asked. He thought about it for a minute. “I like it. But we’re both the boyfriends here, buster. We can make sure we’re both comfortable.” He hugged Cas tightly to him. “I want you for forever.” 

“Me too,” Cas said. “Now that you’re an angel, I don’t think that will be as big of a problem.” 

“You’re right,” Dean said. He frowned. “But what about Sam? He’s not an angel. He’ll die someday.”

“If he does, then you can always visit him in heaven,” Cas reassured him. “But don’t get too ahead of yourself. Father does mysterious things in this world.” 

“Okay,” Dean agreed. “Now one last kiss before we really go work on my angel powers?” 

“Fine,” Cas said sighing. He melted in Dean’s arms and tentatively touched his lips. Dean took his time and made out with his boyfriend. Life isn’t always bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one was shorter than the last few! I was pretty busy this week but still wanted to upload a chapter :) Thank you everyone for the great comments and for the kudos! You have been making my day and I will continue to write out this story!!


	11. The Return of Rowena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The witch returns...

When Dean and Cas arrived back at the bunker, it was in a state of chaos. Sam and Gabriel were running around trying to find something. Even Charlie was there. They were only gone for a few hours. What did they miss?

"Hey, guys," Dean said. Both of them stopped and looked at him. "What's going on?"

"You two disappeared for several hours and this is what happens," Sam said. "Rowena turned up. She's in a town near here actually." 

"What?" Dean's head snapped up. "Why didn't you call us? Or even pray? We would have come sooner if we had known."

"That's why I didn't do anything," Sam explained. He pointed at Dean. “Gabriel told us what happened in heaven when you saw dad. I thought you needed a few minutes to sort everything out. If something major had happened, I would have called you right away. But as of right now, Rowena is just sitting in a food court at a mall."

"Well, okay," Dean said grudgingly. "How do you know she's just sitting there?"

"This mall has cameras everywhere," Gabe explained. He brought up a grainy feed on the laptop. “Charlie got us in pretty quick. The bitch is just sitting there waiting for something to happen.” 

“She hasn’t moved or done anything,” Charlie explained. “I got word from one of my reapers that she was there and they were wondering what they should do about it. I haven’t felt the need to be there, so that must mean that she isn’t planning on killing a bunch of humans.” 

“Dean,” Castiel said. “I think you should see this.” 

“What is it?” Dean looked at Cas. He was pointing at the laptop screen. Dean stared. There on the screen, Rowena was holding up a sign so that the camera could read it. Come on out Winchesters. “Son of a bitch! She has got some kind of balls!” 

“So what do we do?” Charlie asked. “It could be a trap right?” 

“Of course it could,” Sam said. “We’re not going to go anywhere near her.” 

“I’m going,” Dean said. 

“What!” Sam yelled. “How can you possibly want to go near her knowing what she could do? She could be trying to kill you for all we know.” 

“That’s why I have to go,” Dean said. “Maybe she will give away part of her plans. Do we even know if the darkness is controlling her?”

“I have no idea,” Gabriel said sullenly. “I haven’t been able to find this woman since I arrived back on earth. Father knows I’ve been trying to.”

“I haven’t been able to either,” Charlie added. “Its like she just dropped off the face of the earth.”

“No its like she has the most powerful book on earth in her possession,” Castiel said. Dean couldn’t hold back a snort. “Dean, the book of the Damned is the most powerful book and Rowena currently has it. This is no laughing matter.”

“Dude, that wasn’t why I was laughing,” Dean explained. 

“It was because you’re the unexpected comic relief of the group, bro!” Gabe said loudly. “I’ve waited for this moment for so long.”

“Okay, can it you guys,” Sam said. “We need to come up with a plan.” 

“I’ve got one for ya,” Dean said and grabbed him by the shoulder. With a flap of his invisible wings, Dean and Sam landed in the mall’s bathroom. “How’s that?”

“What the fuck, Dean?” Sam yelled shaking him off. “Where are we?”

“In the bathroom,” Dean cleared his throat. “At the mall.”

“Dean, I’m going to give you kudos for making up your mind,” Gabriel said from inside a stall. “But this is a little rash even for you.”

“Dean just knows that we wouldn’t make up our minds before she gave up,” Charlie said from the same stall. 

“Father! Can’t you get your own?” Gabe squealed. 

“Oh grow up,” Charlie said. “Its not like you were doing anything in here.”

“This is all interesting,” Cas said leaning against the sink. “But what are we going to do now?”

“What we always do,” Dean said. “We’re going to go out there and see what she wants.” 

“Brilliant plan there, brother,” Gabriel said bursting out of the door. “I am amazed that you’ve even lived this long in life.” 

“Can it short stack.” 

“Well then,” Cas said holding open the door. “Let’s go.” 

Dean led the way out of the bathroom and into the food court. 

"Look who showed up," Rowena said looking over the group with flat eyes. Dean could barely stop himself from shivering. "You didn't keep me waiting long."

"You know us," Dean shrugged, "we really don't like to keep a party waiting."

"How long do you think it took me to figure out you were here, Dean?" Rowena asked darkly. "Do you think that I'm a fool? I knew you would come, I know everything."

"You're not Rowena, are you?" Sam asked shrewdly. "I didn't know her that well but she never lost her accent around us." 

"Very good, Sam." she clapped. "I'd heard about you but I didn't think you would catch on so quickly. No, Rowena is in here but she's just a meat suit now like you say." 

"Who are you then?" Charlie demanded. "You seem more like the grandstanding villain than the criminal mastermind." 

"That's a pity though," the thing said. "I really expected more from the being that (God) made Death. You silly twit, I'm more old than you can imagine. I am what God and his silly archangels feared for years."

"You're the darkness," Gabriel said. "I thought I recognized your stick. Although you have mellowed from your prison." 

"And you need to learn to hold your tongue," the darkness said and snapped its fingers. It turned its cold gaze on Dean. "Dean Winchester, I have heard whispers about you for many years. How you stopped the apocalypse, how you even helped your pet there get the angels back into heaven." 

"Its always nice to see a fan," Dean said with a bravado he didn't feel. "I can't say that I've heard anything about you." 

"Its seems though that you've gotten an upgrade since I was released," it continued. "You have the foul smell of one of the archangels. That is surprising." 

"It was for us too," Sam said. "Get to the point. Why did you call us here?" 

"Maybe a little too smart," it sneered. "Although you are right. I brought you here to show you what I can do. I wanted to show you why you couldn't win against the darkness."

"I think we can manage," Dean said bumping Cas's shoulder. "We've beat the unbeatable before." 

"You will see." 

With that the darkness exploded into black smoke. It raced its way around the mall. Dean gaped as it infected all of the people around them. "Shit!"

"You just had to challenge it," Gabriel shouted. "You wanted to intimidate a thing that has been locked up for longer than humans have been on this earth. Did you think that would end well?" 

"Not like I was thinking it through," Dean yelled back. "I just wanted to see how it would react to me."

"You wanted to goad it," Charlie concluded. She smacked his shoulder. "That was really stupid, Dean!" 

"Probably," Dean admitted. "But I think we got a reaction." He pointed to the hoard of people that were moving against them. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I don't think there's much we can do," Castiel said beside them. "Do we know of any weapon that works against darkness?"

"No, bro, we don't," Gabriel said. "Way to be a downer about this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Sorry its been a while since I uploaded a chapter...school you know? The new episode of Supernatural was pretty awesome! Anyway sorry this chapter is shorter than the others. I will make up for it I promise!!


	12. The New (or Old) Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds out some more of what he can do and what exactly that means for the gang.

“So what exactly are we going to do about those guys?” Charlie asked pointing at the mob of people coming at them. 

“Can you do anything about them?” Dean asked. “Are they really beyond saving?”

“You mean are they still alive?” Charlie asked. She studied them for a second. “They seem to be. The only thing that I can really sense from them is that there is something possessing them. But I can’t make it go away.” 

“So we fight them?” Dean asked. “But we don’t even know what kills them.”

“Don’t we need to save them?” Sam asked. “Its the job description, saving people. I don’t want to kill people if we don’t have to.”

“How do you propose we stop them?” Gabe demanded. He waited a few seconds for the younger hunter to answer. “You don’t know. I don’t know either. There weren’t any people alive the last time this thing saw the light of day. I have no answers for you.” 

“Maybe we could try to wake them up?” Charlie suggested trying to take the tension down. “You know like when a person has night terrors or something?”

“We can try right now,” Castiel said. “They’re getting closer.” 

“Damn,” Dean swore. There were now at least a hundred people coming at them all in a zombie like trance. While they weren’t exactly stumbling like a zombie movie, they were moving at a slow but steady pace towards the food court. “Okay, so what do we know about these things? Come on guys! Think.” 

“They’re zombies,” Charlie said. “I know that I can’t stop them or sense them.” 

“What about their auras?” Sam asked Gabe. “Can you see anything about them? If something is controlling them?”

“No can do, moose,” Gabe said. “I can’t see anything at all. There seems to be something surrounding them. Like a giant cloud of shit stink.” 

“Colorful,” Cas said. “So there’s nothing that we can do about it? We are going to have to kill them?”

“No!” Dean and Sam shouted at the same time. “I’m not going to let anyone kill them,” Sam continued. “They are humans, innocent humans.” 

“He’s right,” Dean said nodding. “I don’t want to kill anyone if we don’t have to.”

“We’re running out of options here, Dean,” Charlie said. “None of these people were set to die today. They’re not on my list. But if we can’t do anything to stop them, we can’t leave them here for more people to find.”

“Gabe,” Dean said turning to the short archangel. “Can you lock down the mall? Make it to where no one can come in or out?”

“Yes, boss,” Gabe said snapping his fingers. He disappeared only to return in several seconds. “Its done. Anyone who tries to come near will get the sudden urge to go home and no one can get out until I allow it.”

“Good,” Sam said. “What are you thinking Dean?” 

“You know what happened when I had to rescue you two?” Dean asked. Everyone nodded. “Will that work here?”

“It might,” Cas said. “But we do not know for sure. Can you do it again?” 

“I’m sure as hell going to try,” Dean said narrowing his eyes at the zombie like crowd. The group had backed up into the farthest corner of the food court. People were coming at them from all directions. Help me out here, Chuck. He could feel the power steadily increase inside of him, so he closed his eyes. Instantly, the power increased tenfold. His skin felt like it was tearing apart. “Close your eyes!” 

Now! Chuck’s voice yelled inside his head. Dean spread his arms wide and opened his eyes. A beam of light came down from the ceiling and entered him. It shot straight from Dean into all of the people that the Darkness infected. As soon as the light appeared, it left Dean in a puddle on the floor. 

 

*Castiel* 

“Close your eyes!” Cas immediately shut them. He didn’t know what Dean was doing only that the warmth of his father was in the mall with them. A few moments later, he felt his father leave. Cas knew he could look. 

Dean was on the floor along with the zombies. Several were starting to come around and groan. Cas pulled Dean into his lap. The man was passed out but still breathing. Sam leaned over Cas to look at his brother.

“I guess someone will have to let these people know what happened,” Gabe said brightly. “I nominate, moose.” 

“I have to go,” Charlie said quietly. She shook her head. “There seems to be something happening with my new posse.” 

“Anything we can do to help?” Sam asked. 

“Let me check it out first,” she said. “You guys have a mess to clean up here.” She walked into the wall disappearing. 

“That’s a new trick,” Sam muttered. “Conjure up some badges for us, Gabe.”

“Oh, dress up,” Gabriel said gleefully. “I’ve always wanted to play cops and robbers with you.” 

“Maybe later,” he said turning bright red. “Let Cas and Dean through the barrier so you and I can deal with this.” 

When he felt the barrier lift, Cas flew Dean back to the bunker. He carried the archangel to his room. “What am I going to do with you?” Dean looked so peaceful lying on his bed. Cas pulled down the blanket and joined his boyfriend in bed. Dean wiggled over and pulled Cas close to his chest. Cas smiled and closed his eyes. “Maybe a small nap wouldn’t hurt.” 

 

*Dean*

“So, Chuck,” Dean said looking up at God. He knew they were in his head. He had felt Cas lay him on his bed. “You wanted to talk?” 

“This seemed like a good time,” Chuck said. They were back in the garden where Dean had been given his new status. “I think I should tell you more about what is going on.” 

“That might be useful,” Dean admitted. “I’d hate for us to get caught with our pants down again.” 

“Yes, well that was unfortunate,” God said sighing. “Its been so long since my angels and I had to fight against that thing. I would have thought she would be weakened over time but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” He looked at the sky. “She was hard to fight when we were all together, now she wants revenge for what we did to her.” 

Dean frowned. “So you and you squad fought against her before you created Earth right? And you trapped her in the inter dimensional portal thing?” Chuck nodded. “What exactly can she do?”

“That’s just it,” Chuck said shaking his head. “I have no idea. Her powers were strong when we first fought. She is pure darkness. Think of her as my opposite.”

“So if you’re good, justice, and all that,” he said. “Then she would be evil, injustice, and pure wrong. That seems like a trip. What was with the ray of light thing?” 

“You’re my angel now, Dean,” Chuck said narrowing his eyes at the hunter. “When I created Michael, I wanted him to be my warrior and right hand. All of my angels have served a purpose over the years.”

“That came back to bite you in the ass a few times,” Dean pointed out. 

“Well you’re not wrong,” Chuck admitted. “Anyway, I gave you his grace but I changed it remember? I wanted you to be different.” He looked sheepish. “I made you the most powerful archangel that has ever existed because I also molded my grace into Michael’s.”

“What?” 

“You heard me,” God said. “You are an archangel made from the grace of God and an archangel. So you can use my powers to an extent as well. That’s what that light was. It was everything that was good and pure. It drove the darkness out of those people at the mall and it will do so again when you meet up with Darkness once more. That’s what this battle will be about. Pure good against pure evil.” 

“I’ve got your grace in me too?” Dean asked flabbergasted. “But how?” 

“I’m God, I can do anything,” Chuck said with a smirk. “Now I think its time for you to wake up. Gabe and Sam are back. If you need to talk to me, I’m just a prayer away.” 

“Funny guy,” Dean said with a laugh. “See ya, Chuck.”


	13. John's Journey Down Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets thrown into the past and has to relive everything that Dean and Sam went through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, this work is unedited. All mistakes are my own.

John looked around shocked. Where was he? He certainly wasn't in heaven anymore. He looked around. They were in a field. Sam and Dean were standing in front of a pile of burning logs. A white wrapped body was in the center. 

“Where the fuck am I?” He yelled. He gasped. They were at his funeral! Dean looked stoic and Sam just looked beaten. That damn angel! Why would he do this? 

He followed Sam and Dean back to the car they borrowed. He watched his two stubborn sons as they headed to Bobby's. Over the next week he watched Dean as he refused to talk about anything or do anything other than fix the Impala. 

On and on it went. John followed the boys as they solved cases. He went with them to Ellen's bar. He watched Dean struggle with the promise that John had made with him. He followed them on the hunt with Gordon and then when Sam wanted to chase down the psychics. 

John cried when he watched Sam get killed by the other psychic boy in the ghost town. He endured Dean's struggle with selling his soul for Sam's life. He saw himself come out of hell and they finally finished yellow eyes. 

It continued. He watched as Dean was tortured in hell. He watched Sam self destruct with Ruby. He saw an angel pull Dean from the pit. He was with Dean as he struggled from the grave that Sam had insisted upon. He walked every step with Dean to the gas station and saw what happened when the angel tried to talk to him. 

John witnessed every struggle his sons had to make when they learned about Michael and Lucifer. He was there when Lucifer was released from his cage. He stood by Dean and Sam when they were the vessels of the archangels. He watched Sam jump into the pit. 

John cried as he witnessed Dean have the life that he should have had with Lisa and Ben. Sure he struggled but Dean was a damn good father. And then Sam came back different from before; he took Dean away. Their grandfather showed up and God was he an asshole. Castiel was back too. The bond between John's eldest and the angel was something that was very evident whenever they were in the room together. 

Sam was soulless. The angel let loose an ancient evil. John knew he had good intentions but this was just too much. John’s heart ripped in two when he saw the agony on Dean’s face when Cas died. His boy had found love again only to loose it. They were attacked by the leviathans at Bobby’s. Sam was seeing Lucifer all the time. He ended up in a mental hospital. Dean found Cas when he tried to find someone to cure Sam. Cas didn’t remember anything about his life before. Sam was cured by the angel when he remembered. But Cas took the crazy into himself and stayed there. 

The battle continued. The boys met Charlie. John knew Dean saw her as an adopted sister right away. She was someone who just wormed her way into everyone’s heart. Cas helped Dean end Dick but it sent them both into Purgatory. John went with them. For a year, he watched Dean search for Cas only to team up with a vampire. Dean turned into a killing machine. Every day he battled evil forces to the death. They found Cas and reached the door only the angel stayed behind. Later, Dean found him back in the real world.

Dean was pissed that his brother didn’t go looking for him. He watched Dean become more confident in himself and in turn watched Sam become more apologetic about his actions. They were both growing up rapidly. John just wished he’d stayed around longer to see them become the men that they were today. Sam began the demon trials but Dean didn’t let him finish. The angels fell from heaven. Cas became human. 

Dean tried to heal his brother by allowing an angel to use Sam as a vessel. Dean tried to keep it quiet but that ended up backfiring. Sam found out and was hurt about it. Too damn bad, son, John thought. Dean would always protect Sam. Dean took off and ended up taking the Mark of Cain from Cain himself. That’s something John didn’t see coming. Dean slowly became influenced by the mark, then the blade. He killed that bitch knight of hell. Then he tried to take on the angel who ejected the rest from heaven. Dean died. 

Crowley showed up in the bunker. Dean became a demon. John was starting to see what the angel who sent him here was trying to teach him. His sons were good men, who turned out that way no matter how he raised them. He watched Sam save Dean. John knew the mark was still there, still influencing Dean’s every waking minute. Dean told Cas that he was going to have to be killed soon. 

“When will this end?” John screamed. But no one heard. 

Sam teamed up with Charlie and the witch, Rowena and started using the Book of the Damned. That name was a clue right there. Nothing good could come of a book like that. Charlie decoded the book but was killed by one of the Frankenstein boys. Dean lost it. He pleaded with Death to take him away but Death wanted Sam dead too and for Dean to kill him. Sam agreed. Dean killed Death instead. Rowena performed the spell. Darkness was unleashed. 

John watched the darkness sweep over them from the car. They stopped at a motel. Cas joined him. Michael gave up his powers. He witnessed Dean’s powwow with God. John swore that the little guy knew he was there. Dean became an archangel. 

“I get it now!”

But John still had more to go. He watched Dean develop wings and they traveled back to the bunker. Gabriel, the angel who sent him here, defended Dean against Sam’s accusations. Damn, John was proud of Dean. His boy had a doctorate in engineering! That was amazing. Dean worked on his powers and saved Sam and Gabriel. Then he traveled up to heaven wanting so desperately to see his family. John could feel the despair he caused his son with his harsh words. 

"You're no better than the things we used to hunt," The past John spat. "I should have realized that a long time ago." 

“Why did I say that?” John questioned. Dean had done nothing to deserve those words. He had exceeded anything that John could ever have dreamed of. “I love my son, he’s a good man.” 

“Then you’ve learned your lesson,” Gabriel said stepping into the room. “Now you understand just what kind of pain you caused him. Dean’s a good man. He didn’t deserve that.” 

“You’re right,” John whispered. Tears streamed down his face. “I love my sons, I do. I don’t know what happened to me up here. You would think that being here with my wife and friends that I would finally be at peace. But I wasn’t, I turned into a bitter man.”

“You understand now though right?” the angel questioned. “What you really wanted was to make sure that Sam and Dean would be all right. You died before you could make that happen. But they turned out fine. Hell, better than fine. They’ve saved the world so many times. Dean’s an archangel now. They’re okay.” 

“I get it,” he said nodding. “I just hope that he can forgive me.”

“I think that he will,” Gabriel said. “But it might take time before he is ready to talk to you again. He went out on a pretty steep limb trying to talk to you in the first place. Dean might not be so ready for it to snap again.” 

“I know,” John said. “Will you please tell him that I’m sorry? And that when he’s ready to talk to me, I’ll be here.”

“I’ll give him the message.” Gabe winked. “That is my job after all.” With a snap, the angel disappeared. 

“I’m proud of you John,” Mary said from the doorway. “Gabriel did the right thing.” 

“He did,” John said with a grimace. “I can’t believe how I acted here. I hope Dean forgives me. But my question right now is, do you? I love you so much, Mary.”

“Of course I forgive you, you big fool,” she said with a giggle. She pulled him down by his shirt collar. “Now kiss me.” 

“Your wish is my command.” He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her’s. Everything was going to be all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter turned out okay. I've never written anything that had a time lapse like this. If you find anything please shoot me a comment. If you just want to say hi, comments and kudos are encouraged for that too! (:


	14. Enter Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas get it on...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is my first attempt at smut. Please be gentle and let me know if you like it!

Dean woke up to someone snuffling in his neck. “You always smell so good, Dean,” Castiel whispered. “Since the moment I raised you, you’ve smelled like home to me. Everything is just more enhanced now.” 

He rolled over and pulled Cas into his arms. “You’ll always be home to me, Cas.” He leaned forward and drew Cas into a tender kiss. Dean could feel his toes curl as pleasure radiated through his body. A sense of rightness flowed through him. “I’ve known that for awhile now.” 

“Dean,” Cas murmured in a broken voice. “I—“

“Cas,” he interrupted. Dean rolled Cas onto his back and then placed himself on top of the angel. Their swollen cocks pressed together and they both groaned. “I said I wanted to take things slow,” Dean explained. He ground his pelvis down again. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to do anything. There are still many things that I can show you.” 

“Yes, please,” Cas moaned. “I want to see everything.” 

Dean grinned. His angel was going to see everything he could show him. Dean moved his lips down Cas' neck gently biting the pulse point that was fluttering rapidly. The angel wrapped his arms around Dean's back. "Do you like that?"

"Yes," he groaned. "What are you doing to me?"

"I'm loving you." 

Castiel gasped. Dean knew he had never said something like that to anyone but the person in his arms deserved to know the truth. Dean loved him and he was going to show him exactly how much if it took the rest of his existence to do. "Dean—“ 

"Just feel, Castiel," Dean said softly. "That's all you have to do. Just feel what I'm doing to you." Dean reached down to gently tweak Cas' dusty red nipple. Even though they weren't going to have sex, Dean wanted this experience to be memorable. He wanted to take Cas to the stars. He noticed Cas biting his bottom lip, cutting his noises off. Dean stopped what he was doing. "Cas, I want to hear everything. Let me know what I'm doing to you and how much you like it."

"Yes." Cas licked his lips. "I do like it, Dean. Very much." 

"Then I'll keep on doing it," Dean teased him. “But its going to get better.” With that promise, Dean nibbled his way down Castiel’s collar bone and to Cas’ left nipple. He looked into his angel’s eyes as he took it into his mouth. Cas gave a surprised yelp and then arched into Dean. Dean made sure their cocks touched the whole time. He gently bit on the nubbin and then blew on it. Goosebumps popped up all over Castiel’s skin. 

“Dean, do something, please,” his broken pleading went straight to Dean’s cock. He had to take deep breaths to make sure their time wasn’t over with before it began. Cas tugged on his hair. “Please, Dean.” 

“I’ve got you,” Dean whispered. He inched back up and leaned into Cas. Cas smashed his lips into Dean’s. The ferocity of the kiss astounded Dean. Who knew that the angel was this passionate? Dean nipped Cas’ lower lip and the angel gasped, granting Dean access to his mouth. Dean moaned. The taste of Cas exploded on his tongue. He was sweet like apple pie. Dean could get used to this. 

They began to grind into each more frantically. Pre-cum flowed between them and mingled with the sweat the two were generating. Cas clamped his legs around Dean’s waist in a vice like grip keeping them from moving apart. 

“Dean, I’ve gotta,” Cas yelled. “Please, something!” 

“Come, Cas,” Dean commanded. “Come now!” 

The angel’s face morphed into pure ecstasy. Spurts of wet heat filled the space between them. A low pitched groan filled the room. Dean realized it was coming from him just before he felt his release crash upon him. He stared into Cas’ eyes as they both came down from the peak. 

“That was amazing,” Castiel murmured. “I want to do that again.” 

“We can do that whenever you want,” Dean agreed with a grin. “Whenever you want.” 

“Hey, Dean,” Gabriel yelled from the other side of the door. “If you’re done sexing my brother, we could use you both out here.” 

Dean groaned and laid his forehead against his boyfriend’s. “He’s your brother.” 

“I know,” Cas panted. “But he’s also your archangel. Besides, he probably needs something.” 

“A kick in the ass,” Dean muttered. “I’m sure I can get him one of those.” 

“Come on, guys,” Gabe yelled again. “Chop! Chop!” 

“We can’t even get a shower because short stuff is in the way,” Dean complained. He motioned to their stomachs. “This is uncomfortable.” 

“Here, I’ll clean us up,” Cas offered. With a touch of his hand, all of the cooling spunk and sweat was gone. “Is that better?”

“Much,” Dean agreed. “But I still would’ve liked to have spent some time with you after.”

“Did you wish to cuddle?” Cas asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “I thought you didn’t like that chick flick stuff.” 

“Not cuddle,” he said. Heat washed over his face. “Its manly holding.” 

“Well next time I’ll let you cuddle with me,” Cas said pulling on his suit coat. 

“Not cuddling, asshole,” Dean muttered. He pulled on one of his old AC/DC t-shirts. He walked over to Cas. “Let me fix that.” Dean straightened out the tie that Cas always seemed to mangle. “We need to get you some new clothes. You’ve been running around in a suit like this since I’ve known you.”

“Do you not like it?” Cas asked hesitantly.

“No, I do,” he backtracked. “But maybe we could get you a couple more? And some jeans too. You know, something you’ll be comfortable in.” 

“We’ll see.” 

They made their way to the war room. Sam and Gabe were sitting at the table while they poured over books and news reports. Well, Sam was the one looking at books. Gabe was eating some sort of candy bar. The archangel smirked at them.

“Well, look who finally decided to join us,” he said laughing. “Sam, they finally came up for air. Was it all that you two imagined?” 

“It was none—“

Cas interrupted Dean. “It was more than acceptable. Dean took very good care of me.” 

“I don’t need to hear about any of it,” Sam protested. “As far as I’m concerned, you guys just spent an hour playing board games.” 

“Really, Sam?” Dean asked. “You know I’ve had sex before. Is it because he’s a guy? Is that why you’re all weird about this?”

“I’m a celestial being,” Cas protested. 

“No, of course not,” Sam said. “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. You’re finally getting your act together.” He grinned. “Bobby and I made bets on how long it would take the two of you to get your heads out of your asses.”

“Really?” Dean asked shocked. Sam nodded. “Well, how much did you loose?”

“Five hundred,” Sam said sullenly. “I thought you two would have figured it out long ago. Bobby won.” 

“So what did you interrupt us for?” Castiel asked. “Did something happen?”

“Its more of what isn’t happening,” Sam said. “I’ve got nothing. No cases, no demons killing or making deals. Nothing is happening.” 

“That’s good though,” Dean said. “It means that people are living.” 

“Not exactly,” Gabriel said. He leaned back in his chair. “When Sam said that there were no cases, he meant it. There is nothing pinging on my radar. No evil up to no good. Its just silent.” 

“Like they’re waiting,” Castiel surmised. He looked at Dean. “They’re waiting to see what is going to happen with the Darkness. They don’t know what she’s going to do about them, or us.” 

“Great,” Dean said. He materialized a beer in his hand and sat down. “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about what they’re doing for the time being. We can spend our time working on finding the bitch and killing her.” 

“Until the demons and all of the other supernatural baddies decide that they want to team up with her,” Sam said. “I mean, she is the ultimate evil right?” 

“About that,” Sam hedged. He lifted up a book. “I think we might have found something that will help us.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Dean asked. He looked from his sheepish brother to the archangel who was looking at anything else. “Nope.”


	15. The Surprise Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Gabriel explain what they found in the library. Someone unexpected comes to the bunker door.

Dean glanced back and forth between his moose of a brother and the shortest archangel. “You want to what?” 

“Dean,” Sam said calmly. He even waved his hands like he was trying to calm a wild animal. “Its not like this is our first choice. But right now its the only one we have.” 

“So you want us to join our powers, like some kind of Sailor Moon crap?” he sneered. “And do what with it exactly? Track down the Darkness to do what?” 

“The fact that you know Sailor Moon kind of bugs me,” Sam said awkwardly. “It says here in the book that the powers of the archangels, that’s you guys, and the powers of their mates will be enough to stop the darkness.”

“That’s another thing, mates?” Dean asked. “Who is it talking about? We don’t have any friends.” 

“That’s not what it means, Dean-o,” Gabriel sniggered. He waved his hands between Dean and Castiel. “It means your soul mates, the one you love.” 

“Let me get this straight,” Dean forced out.

“Straight? There’s nothing straight in this room,” Gabriel added. He was quickly shushed by Sam who could tell his brother wasn’t in the mood.

“You want to beat the darkness with the power of love?” Dean ended with a screech. “Is this some new age hippie stuff? What have you been smoking down here, Sam?” 

“Not a damn thing,” Sam denied. He held up the book. “This book has been around for hundreds of years. I have no idea who the author was but he sounds almost like he was taking dictation.” 

“You think it was—?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, I think that God was talking to this guy in case the cell was busted and the darkness was freed. It sounds like an instruction manual of a sorts. Three archangels and their mates will kill the oldest enemy of the world. Its all right here!”

“Just one small problem there, Sammy,” Dean interrupted. He pointed to Gabriel and himself. “We only have two archangels. Micheal gave his grace to me, Raphael is dead, and Lucifer is in the cage. We don’t have any other archangels out there buddy.” 

Sam cringed. He looked at Gabriel. 

“That’s the thing that will be the hardest,” Gabriel said taking over. “We’re going to have to free Lucifer.” 

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” Dean yelled. He started pacing the length of the room. “You want to free the dick bag who wanted us all dead? He killed you, Gabriel! Why would we even trust him? Why would he want to help us?” 

“Because he will have something that he never had before,” Chuck said stepping through the door. 

Dean looked around. Everyone else in the room was frozen. He turned back to regard his old friend. “You knew this would happen? That’s why you were trying to free him last time?”

“Yes,” Chuck sighed. He looked very tired with the rings underneath his eyes. “I wanted to free him when I went to get Michael, he just wouldn’t listen. I know he didn’t want his brother taken from him. It was the only time that they’ve had together for millennia.” 

“So why didn’t you just free him?” 

“He needs to know what is happening,” God said. “I don’t think that he will believe me anymore. He doesn’t have faith like he used to.” 

“And he’s going to listen to us?” Dean laughed. “I don’t think so. We tried to kill him. I’m going to be lucky if he doesn’t try to kill us all.” 

“He won’t,” Chuck said firmly. “Like I said, you’re going to have something that he’s always wanted but never had.”

“What?” 

“His mate,” Chuck said. “You’ll know him when you see him. All you have to do is go down to hell, you’ll feel the tug, and free him. Just make sure he knows that he has a mate.” 

“Okay,” Dean said slowly. But God had disappeared. 

“Okay?” Sam asked confused. “You mean this is good?”

“No, its not a great plan,” Dean said sighing. “But it seems to be the only one we have. We just need to wait until we find his mate to go to him.” 

“I just thought that there would be more of a fight to get you to agree to this,” Sam said. He narrowed his eyes. “What has happened to you?”

“Yes, Dean,” Cas said. “This does seem odd for you.” 

“I’m a new man,” Dean muttered. “Or angel.” 

Knock, knock.

“It couldn’t be,” Cas said confused. “Who knows that we’re here but just can not get in by themselves.”

“I don’t know,” Dean said. “Maybe Crowley. But he doesn’t seem to want to talk to us right now.” 

“I’ll get it,” Gabriel volunteered. He poofed up to the door and opened it slowly. “Well, I can’t say that I was expecting you.” 

“I could say the same thing,” Adam said stepping through the door. He looked down at his family gathered below him. “I almost didn’t believe it when God himself came to my heaven and told me I was going to be coming back to earth. He said that I was important for saving the world or something.” 

“Dean?” Sam looked at his older brother wide eyed. “Did you know about this?” 

“That Adam was going to be the Devil’s mate?” Dean asked. He shook his head. “No. I did have a powwow with God a few minutes ago telling me that the plan would work and that we’d need Lucifer. He said to wait until we found his mate though.” 

“Wait, I’m what?” Adam asked coming to a halt in front of his brothers. 

Dean pulled him into a hug. “Its good to see you again,” Dean said. “I didn’t think it would be so soon.” 

“I didn’t either,” the youngest Winchester said. “But what is this all about?” 

“We found a plan on how to kill the darkness,” Sam said. “It requires three archangels and their mates. We just don’t know what comes after that.” 

“Okay, so Dean is an archangel, right?” Adam confirmed. They all nodded. “And his mate is Castiel.” Another nod. “So Gabriel is an archangel, who is his mate?” 

Sam blushed a bright red. If the situation wasn’t so dire, Dean would have teased him about it. “I am.” 

“I knew it!” Dean said triumphantly. 

“Considering it took you and Cas years to work out what you have,” Sam said with a bitch face. “Do you think now is the time to rub it in?” 

“Okay,” Adam said interrupting the fight. “I didn’t expect that, I guess. So that leaves me for the devil?” 

“As far as we can tell,” Castiel said sympathetically. “He’s really not so bad.” 

“I know he’s not,” he said. 

Dean looked at him. Adam wasn’t really freaking out, he seemed almost too calm about what he had been hearing. “What do you know that you’re not telling us?”  
It was Adam’s turn to blush. “Uh, w-w-well,” he stuttered. “You know that I was in the cage with both Lucifer and Michael for years right?” 

Gabriel handed Sam a bucket of popcorn. The others turned to him in disbelief. “What? This is going to be a good story. Carry on, Adam.” 

“Anyway,” Adam said. “During most of those years, Michael was angry. He and I had been separated when we entered the cage. I was in my body and the others were their normal selves.” He took a deep breath. “I think that Michael blamed me. He started trying to attack me. But Lucifer, he saved me. He protected me the whole time that I was down there.” He smiled. “I couldn’t believe that he was evil. He seemed so nice to me. And up until the day that Michael gave up and called God, we would sit and talk for hours.”

Adam drifted off into silence. The room room just watched him in disbelief. Not a single one of them could wrap their heads around the fact that the devil who tried to start the apocalypse had protected the vessel that Michael had inhabited. 

“Okay, then,” Dean said grabbing everyone’s attention. “Its time to go.” 

“Go where?” Sam asked.

“Hell,” Dean paused for dramatic effect. He grabbed Cas’s hand. “We’ve got to rescue our bother’s boyfriend.” 

Sam picked up a couple of weapons. Dean nodded. He didn’t know what they were going to find down in hell. He was just as surprised by Adam’s tale as the rest of them. He chose the brotherly prerogative of waiting to see what happened between his youngest brother and one of the first beings in the universe. At least now Dean had the powers to keep Lucifer in check. He hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, here's another chapter. I hope everyone likes it. As always, I appreciate any comments and kudos that you leave. (:


	16. The Devil's out of the Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and the gang head down to hell to have a little chat with Lucifer.

“So that’s the plan?” Sam asked. “We’re going to waltz into hell, into the deepest part, and free the devil?” 

“Yes, Sam,” Castiel said. “We need to free him to stop the darkness.” 

“I know that,” Sam said. “I just want to know how we’re going to get past all of the demons. Don’t you think that someone will notice three angels and two humans taking a trip through hell?” 

“Not really,” Gabriel said. “Its really big and not too organized right now. I don’t think we’re actually going to come across anything while we’re there.” 

“We better take some weapons just in case,” Sam said clearly not having as much faith as Gabriel. “I’ll go get them.” 

“So, Deano,” Gabe said slowly. He fiddled with his shirt. “Have you thought about how you’re going to approach dear old Lucy?” 

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this but I’m pretty much winging it here,” Dean snorted. “I’ve been made into an archangel and told to let the devil loose. There’s nothing in this plan that screams planned out.” 

The trickster nodded. “You do seem to make a point. I just don’t want you to go at Lucifer all angry. Hopefully, he’ll have mellowed with his time there.” 

“Yeah, you put me in a cage with my angry brother when we were both set on starting the apocalypse and then think that I’ll have mellowed with time,” Dean said. “Yeah that sounds reasonable. Especially when said brother and my love interest get released. Yeah he’s going to be really happy and calm.” 

“No need to get snotty,” Gabriel said. “I’m just trying to help.” 

“He’s right, though,” Castiel said. “Lucifer is not going to be happy to see Dean but he just might be happy to see Adam. We’ll have to wait and see how it goes.” 

“Isn’t that just our life,” Dean muttered. He looked at the door. “Now where is that moose? We need to be heading off to hell here.” 

“I’m here, Dean,” Sam said hauling a huge duffel bag. “And I’ve got everything we need.” 

“You do know that you’re traveling with three angels?” Dean asked. “Why do you need so much stuff?” 

“Excuse me for wanting to make sure that I get through hell alive,” Sam snarked. “You know the last time I was there, I almost got trapped. That’s not going to happen to me again.” 

“I won’t let that happen to you, Sammich,” Gabriel said wrapping an arm around Sam’s waist. 

“Is everyone ready to go? Adam?” Dean looked to his youngest brother. Adam nodded. “Okay then.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and flew to the darkest spot of hell.

When they arrived Sam and Adam stumbled and tried to find their balance. Over the years that Dean had been in hell, he had never really gotten out of the pit. The area where the cage was kept looked completely different. Sure, it was dark and gloomy but there was also a quiet that blanketed everything. ‘Its like a castle,’ Dean thought. 

“Where’s the suit of armor?” Adam asked looking around. 

They were in a dungeon and right in the center of the room was a small box. It just laid there on the floor. If Dean couldn’t feel the power emanating from it, he would have felt let down. “I don’t think we should just open the lid.” 

“He’d just fly out,” Gabriel confirmed. “I think the best way to do this would be for one of us to project into it with him. Maybe he’ll talk before he gets angry.” 

“You make him sound like the hulk,” Adam said. “I don’t think he’s going to green out on you.” 

"Can I project an image of myself in there?" Dean asked. "And not get stuck?"

"I think so," Gabe said nodding. "It shouldn't be a problem." 

"Then I'm going in." 

"What about me?" Adam asked. "Don't you think that he's going to want to see me to have proof that I'm alive and well? I'm supposed to be his mate!" 

"I know," Dean said calmly. "I want to talk to him without interference before I let him see you. I need to know that he is mentally okay before I give him my youngest brother." 

“So you should be able to project a portion of your consciousness in there with him,” Gabriel interrupted. “You’ll be in there with him but your body will be out here with us. Just imagine yourself in there with him. If you need someone just contact us, Cassie and I will be able to hear you.” 

“Okay.” Dean shared a look with Cas. The angel nodded subtly. The plan would work. “Here goes nothing.” Dean focused on the box and tried to picture himself in there. His vision tunneled and he was in the box. Is that it? Dean wondered. 

“Why are you here?” Lucifer asked from behind him. Dean spun around to look at the very being who would willingly end the world. The fallen angel stepped closer. “I asked you why are you here? Surely Dean Winchester is needed to do better things than come have a chat with little old me.” 

“I really do,” Dean muttered. He crossed his arms. Once he stopped for a minute to study the archangel, Dean realized that he looked old and worn out. He looked tired. “You’re not looking too good there, man.” 

“Thank you for stating the obvious, monkey,” Lucifer hissed. “I don’t want you here. So leave.” 

“I think you do,” Dean said. “I think that you miss having your brother here with you, even if he was crazy. I know you miss Adam. And if you didn’t notice, I’m not a monkey. I’m an archangel.” 

“Yes,” Lucifer sneered. “I know all about your little deal with my brother. He gave you his grace and in turn he became mortal.”

“I didn’t make a deal with Michael.” he shook his head. “Chuck beamed me up and we had a talk. He didn’t want to destroy Michael’s grace so he remade it for me. And then he went and put me in charge of all the flying dicks.” 

“Didn’t see that one coming huh?” the devil laughed. “My father has always had a way of turning things around to fit his needs. Tell me, why are you here talking to me?” 

“The darkness was released,” Dean said. 

“What?” Lucifer yelled. “Who in their right mind thought that would be a good idea?” 

“It really doesn’t matter now.” Dean really didn’t need to explain his brother’s role in all of this. “The point is, we decoded something that tells us how to beat it.” 

“We couldn’t beat it then,” Lucifer pointed out. “What makes you think that you can beat it now?” 

“We found something that gives us a portion of directions,” Dean explained. “We need three archangels and their mates to beat the darkness. Apparently love makes you stronger.” 

“I don’t know about that,” Lucifer said. “I’ve done many things for the love of my father and it all came back and bit me in the ass.” 

“No,” Dean corrected. “Everything that you did was for you. You wanted your father to pay attention and because he didn’t you wanted to wreck his world. That’s not love, that is a toddler throwing a temper tantrum because his daddy isn’t paying attention.” 

Dean grunted when Lucifer threw him up against a wall and pinned him with his forearm. “Listen here, Winchester, you don’t know anything about me. I’ve done more than you know for love.” 

“Like Adam’s love?” Dean asked. He looked down at the arm held against him. “Yes, I know all about that. Michael kept on blaming you for being stuck in the cage but he took it out on Adam. Adam says that you protected him.” 

“You’ve talked to Adam?” 

“A couple of times,” Dean said nonchalantly. “Now get off me so I can tell you what he said.” 

“No.” 

“Have it your way.” Dean reached up and grabbed Lucifer’s arm. With an unyielding grip, Dean slowly began to twist. If the circumstances weren’t so dire, Dean would have laughed at the surprise on the devil’s face. “I guess this monkey is stronger than you.” With one final twist, Dean had Lucifer on the ground. “Are you ready to listen now?” 

“If I must,” Lucifer gasped. 

“Adam is with us,” Dean said into his ear. “He’s standing outside this box right now, waiting for us to release you. I guess you made an impression.”

“You’re lying!” 

“Okay, Gabe, bring him in.” 

In the blink of an eye, Adam and Gabriel were standing in the box. Gabe’s eyes widened when he saw what was going on. “I guess things aren’t going too well.” 

“We’re getting there,” Dean said. He looked down at the fallen angel. “I told you I wasn’t lying.” 

“Hey, Luke,” Adam said shyly. 

“Adam?” Lucifer asked in disbelief. “How are you here? I thought father took you up to heaven.” 

“He did,” Adam said. “But he brought me back earlier and told me that I was needed. I guess the Winchesters always have to save the world.” 

“You’re my mate?”

“I am,” Adam said smiling. “Thank you for protecting me from Michael while I was here. I know he blamed me for not being his true vessel.” 

“That’s stupid,” Gabe said rolling his eyes. “He talked you into it knowing that you weren’t Dean. He had no reason to take that out on you.” 

“That’s what I told him,” Lucifer said. He looked up at his brother. “How are you alive. I killed you. I felt your grace leave your body.” 

“Dad,” Gabe said. “He brought me back.” 

“Of course,” he said. “Its always dad.” 

“We do need your help,” Adam said. “You’re an archangel, Dean’s an archangel, and Gabe’s an archangel. We have everything we need to stop the darkness from taking over the world.” 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” the devil asked. “What about their mates?”

“Don't worry, we’ve found them,” Dean said quickly. “Does this mean that you’ll help?”

“Fine,” Lucifer said. “I’ll help. I have one condition though.” 

“What is it?” Dean asked wearily.

“When this is over with, you don’t put me back in the cage,” Lucifer said looking around. “I would rather die.”

“Don’t talk like that, Luke!” Adam said fiercely. “You’re my mate! I don’t want to hear you talking about dying again.” 

Lucifer just looked at Dean. Dean nodded. “I may not like you being mated to my brother but I won’t put you back down here. You have my word.” 

“All right,” Gabe said clapping his hands. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Any comments and/or kudos are appreciated and loved!


	17. What Next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean tries to bust the devil from his cage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's the next chapter. As always, this is unedited and I do not own Supernatural. Enjoy (:

Dean made it out of the cage before the others. Gabe was a little slower in getting out, probably because he was bringing Adam out as well. “So how do we open this thing?” 

“Good question, Dean-o,” Gabe said cheerfully, popping up behind him. Adam looked a little woozy. “I have no idea.” 

“No idea?” Adam asked flabbergasted. “How can you have no idea? You helped put him in there to begin with!” 

“Now, Adam,” the archangel said calmly. “I didn’t exactly seal the cage. It was a group effort. But I don’t think you can just open it up. Otherwise a demon would have done it years ago.” 

Dean shook his head. Why did God think it was a good idea to turn him into the babysitter for the awkward angels? Didn’t he know that Dean didn’t have the patience for this? 

‘Use your light,’ a voice whispered in Dean’s ear. 

“What?” Dean asked looking around. 

The others looked at him confused. “We didn’t say anything,” Sam said studying his brother. “Are you hearing things now?” 

‘Use it!’

“Fine!” Dean said angrily. What did these things expect from him? “I’ll do it.” 

“Do what?” Cas asked tilting his head. “What’s going on Dean?” 

“Apparently, I’m busting Lucifer out of his cage.” Dean shrugged at their bewildered looks. “Don’t ask me, I’m just the messenger.” 

“Dude,” Gabe said pointing at himself. “I’m the messenger. Its been my title since the beginning of time.” 

“You know what I mean,” Dean said. He stood in front of the box. “You guys should look away just in case. I don’t know if this can hurt you guys.” 

“Okay,” Sam said. He grabbed Adam and turned around. “Don’t look at him.” 

"I'm not going to," Adam grumbled. "I won't ruin this for my mate." 

"Dean, what are you doing?" Cas asked from his side. 

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Dean whispered. “All I know is that a voice in my head told me to do something and I think I’ll listen to it for the time being.” 

“Just try not to blow us up, Dean-o,” Gabe said seriously. “I just got back after all.” 

Dean turned back to the box shaking his head. "Of course I'm not going to blow us up, Gabe. That's pretty much been a goal for me not to do since I was in diapers. Just shut up and let me concentrate." He could feel the power thrumming through his body and when he began to focus on it, that power began to build. He faltered. 'What if I do blow us up? The world will be destroyed without us.'

A heavy hand squeezed his shoulder. Dean turned to look. Cas gave him a small smile. "I trust you, Dean." 

Dean nodded. He glanced once more at the small box and imagined light exploding from it. The room lit up. Demons from the far reaches of hell could probably feel the power that was being generated in the dungeon. A long scream echoed throughout the stone room. It took a minute for Dean to figure out it was coming from him. 

Everything stopped. Dean opened his eyes to find the devil standing in front of him looking shocked. Apparently Lucifer didn’t think that Dean could free him. He rendered the devil speechless. 'Go me.'

Cas pulled him into a kiss. Dean was shocked but pleased at the angel’s initiative. He smiled. Cas pulled back with a question on his face and a tilt of his head. “What’s funny?” 

“Nothing,” Dean said quickly. “I’m just so happy right now.” 

“You are happy?” Lucifer asked. “You’re happy that the darkness has been released, you’re an archangel, and you just let the devil from his cage.” 

Dean opened his eyes to find that he was still glowing softly. His brothers watched him with awe, so it must not have been bright enough to hurt them. He smiled softly, this was pretty cool. 

"Dean, you're beautiful," Sam mumbled. 

"I'm not beautiful," Dean frowned. "This is a manly glow, I'm shining with strength and virility." 

"You look like a shampoo commercial," Gabriel roared with laughter. 

Even Cas had a slight smile. Dean shook his head. 'Okay, its a little girly.' Lucifer, however, looked ready to explode. 

“But I am the light of God,” Lucifer thundered. Dean could see his wings spreading and the fallen angel trying to show how dominating he was. “I am his favorite!” 

A wave came over Dean and he felt like he was under water. “You are the light of the morning and sun, Lucifer,” Dean said in a monotone voice. He had no control over what was coming out of his mouth. “And I am the light of God. Two lights will shine through the darkness. Each will bring with it the wrath of the holy.” 

Dean gasped for breath and fell to the ground like his strings had been cut. Cas placed a hand on his shoulder and helped him remain upright. “Are you okay, Dean?” 

He nodded. “I’m good. Just a little bit too much channeling for my taste.” 

“What just happened?” Sam demanded. “Can somebody please fill me in here?” 

“Well, Sambo,” Gabriel said brightly. “Dad just used Dean to bitch slap Lucy here. Apparently he doesn’t want us fighting amongst ourselves.” 

“That was God?!” Sam and Adam looked stunned. They clearly didn't expect for God to use their brother as a trumpet. 

"Yes," Gabriel said with a nod. He snapped a sucker into each younger Winchesters' hand. They turned to glare at the messenger. "Trust me, you're going to need it." 

Adam shrugged and eyed Lucifer. His outburst made Adam all the more weary of trusting the fallen angel. It was going to be harder than Dean had anticipated to get them together. Sam looked at him and shook his head. 'I guess they don’t have an idea either.' 

“How did that feel?” Sam asked. 

“God using me as a bullhorn you mean?” Dean paused a second. “Not like anything really. I was just temporarily unable to control what I was doing. Its not like he possessed me though.” 

“He doesn’t do that,” Lucifer said quickly. They stared at him, waiting for an explanation. “Free will. Father wants us to make our own choices. If he wanted to, he could have stopped me from falling. But he wanted me to have free will and learn from what I was doing.” 

Sam wrinkled his nose. “I guess that makes sense.” 

“Do you guys really want to have this conversation here?” Gabe asked. He hummed. “We could but I doubt certain demons would take kindly to it.” 

Cas stiffened beside Dean. “They’re already aware,” he said. “We need to leave. Now.” 

“They’re my minions,” Lucifer said. “They answer to me.” 

“Not anymore,” Dean said. "Look, I know that you're the most powerful douchebag in Hell but there's been a new king for years now. Crowley has taken over down here." 

"Crowley?" Lucifer scoffed. "He was trying to hide from me the last time up I was up here. A puny crossroads demon isn't going to be able to stop me." 

Sam laughed. "Don't you think that you should focus on the bigger picture here? We've got an ancient evil on the loose on Earth. You were released from your cage to help and you now have a mate. There's bigger things going on than who's running hell!" 

"He's right," Adam said quietly. "We've got a lot more on our plates than your pride." 

Pride surged through Dean at his youngest brother standing up to the devil. Really, they were mates so Lucifer wouldn't hurt Adam but this meant that his brother felt comfortable with the archangel enough to tell him off. 

Inky black evil began to move closer. Dean didn't want to be there any longer and risk getting into a war with demons in hell. He grabbed Sam. "Let's head back to the bunker." 

He felt Cas follow him and Sam. He knew that Gabe would have to transport the others back because Lucifer had no idea where they were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry its been so long since I've last updated. I'm not going to abandon this I swear!! I'm in the middle of studying for finals and I just finished my second novel for NANOWRIMO! So my dear readers, I will now be updating this with more regularity. Thank you for the comments and kudos. (:


	18. The Devil has Daddy Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer has a bit of a tantrum...

**Adam**

They all arrived back at the bunker. There was look exchanged between Lucifer and Dean before the Devil stalked off. 

"Wait," Adam called out. But Lucifer didn't stop. He looked back at his brothers. "Shouldn't we show him around first, so he doesn't get lost?" 

Dean smirked. "Naw, we'll let him find his own way. Just like we did, right Sammy?" 

Sam shook his head. "Maybe we should just let him have some space. He did just loose his brother after all." 

"He didn't loose anyone," Castiel said. "He regained his freedom. Lucifer doesn't always think before he does anything." 

"Good ol' Lucy," Gabriel said with a sly grin. "He never did think things through. I'll bet he's just itching for a fight now. And looking for someone to make it happen." 

"What?" Adam gasped. He couldn't loose the man before he even had a chance to know him. "Where does that hallway lead to?" He asked pointing to the hall that Lucifer had headed down. 

"The garage," Dean said. "If he hurts my baby, I'll smite his ass." 

"I'll make sure nothing happens to it," Adam promised. He took a deep breath and headed after his mate. 

"Don't you think that you should wait for him to come to you?" Sam asked. 

Adam shook his head. "I don't want him doing something foolish that will ruin our chance at happiness. He needs to learn to fight for us too." 

"Go get 'em," Gabe said with a wink. 

Adam hurried down the hall. He turned a corner and then backtracked once he realized that he had taken a wrong turn. “It’s going to take me forever to get to know this place,” he grumbled. He almost broke out into a victory dance when he spotted the door to the garage. 

A loud metal crunch greeted Adam when he turned the knob. But that wasn’t what surprised him. 

“Luke?” Adam stood stunned. God was standing in the middle of the room while Lucifer moved about. He looked like he was throwing a tantrum. “Is everything okay?”

“No, Adam, its not.” Lucifer looked at his father, furious. “Why did you take him away from me? We were just starting to mend what we had! He’s my brother.” 

“Would you rather have Michael stay where he was?” God asked. “He wouldn’t have had his mate in this plane as he was. Michael had to be reborn to find his mate.”

“But can’t I see him? I just want to know that he is alright,” the fallen angel added. 

God smiled. “Your brother is fine. In fact, he was just born.” He patted Lucifer on the shoulder. “But you can’t see him yet. That was one of the stipulations of his rebirth. Michael will live this life as a human, but he will regain all of his memories once he dies.” 

Lucifer growled. “I have to wait so long?” 

“My son, you have a new life here,” God said. “You have a mate and a family that needs you. Be comforted in the fact that Michael is safe, he will live a long life with his mate.” He winked. “You still have a lot to learn. Be grateful for what you have right now and fight for it.” 

With that God left Lucifer standing in the middle of the concrete garage. He walked towards Adam. “Thank you for coming to him,” Adam said. 

“I will always be there for my sons when needed,” God said softly. “Some of them just forget how to ask.” He studied the youngest Winchester. “You will have a long road ahead of you, Adam. Lucifer is not the easiest man to get close to, but once you do, you will be in his heart forever.” 

Adam nodded. “He’s worth the work.” He hesitated but decided to ask anyway. “Sir, why did you expel him from heaven and put him in the cage? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” 

God sighed. “You deserve to know the truth about this. Lucifer has always been one of my favorite angels,” he began, “one of my first creations. When we battled the darkness the first time, I had to create something to seal it in its cage. It was so strong and frankly I worried that it would find its way back here eventually.” His eyes grew distant. “I created the key and then put that key on one of my most trusted, Lucifer. The Mark of Cain that Dean bore and Cain himself was first given to Lucifer.” 

“I didn’t see what happened to Dean but Sam was pretty mum on it,” he said. “It doesn’t sound good.” 

“Its not,” God said. “I didn’t realize it at the time but it began to twist right from the moment it was placed on his skin. Lucifer began to act differently, he began to get jealous. I’ll admit, I was angry when this happened. I was going to kill him. The only thing that stopped me was Michael. He begged for Lucifer’s life, he didn’t want to loose his brother.”

“So you put him in the cage?” 

“Michael did, along with the other archangels,” he explained. “The cage was the only place that Lucifer could be contained and not hurt any human or this Earth. Many years later, I began to suspect what had happened but by then it was too late. I couldn’t remove the mark from him because Lucifer had already passed it to Cain. By then if I had taken it, the darkness would have been released.” 

“It was anyway,” Adam pointed out. 

God nodded. “Yes, it was. But now we have a way to destroy it forever. With all of you and the archangels being together, this world will stand a chance. The lock was already beginning to break, it would have happened eventually without Dean.” 

“He will be relieved to know that,” Adam said. “Sam too. My brothers tend to take on too much guilt, now they will know that it wasn’t their’s to carry.” 

“That is part of being a Winchester,” God said. “You do it too but you’ve had a lot less practice than those two. Sam and Dean have saved the world so many times, yet they can only remember that they were the one’s who were there when it was broken in the first place.”

“Thank you for coming here,” Adam said. “I know that this isn’t your normal way of doing things.”

“I would come to comfort all of my children if I could,” God said. “Lucifer needed me to come here and so did you. Don’t let him walk all over you. Fight for what you want.” 

“I will—“ 

But he was already gone. “At least he knows how to make an exit.” 

“He does that,” Lucifer said. “Always has to have the last word.” 

“He’s right though.” 

“About what?” the devil scoffed. “About Michael? About the world? He always has a say in something.” 

“Michael asked for this to happen,” Adam reminded him. “Michael asked God to make him human so that he could experience a mortal existence. He’s not gone forever.” Adam came closer to his mate. “If he hadn’t done what he did, we wouldn’t be together. You would still be in the cage and I would be in heaven.” 

“But that’s paradise.” 

“No,” Adam said. “It wasn’t the same without you. I missed you so much while I was there.” He looked into the blue eyes that he knew so well. “I would have stayed in the cage with you if it meant we could be together.”

“Don't say that,” Lucifer said. “You don’t mean it.” 

“I’m not going to say things just to make you feel better,” Adam growled. “You protected me there. I fell in love with you in the cage. I would spend the rest of my life with you there, we just don’t have to now.” 

Adam was not a small man by any means, he was a Winchester for cryin’ out loud. But in the moment his mate pulled him into his arms, Adam felt safe and surrounded. They might not be one hundred percent but sooner or later, Adam and Lucifer would find their way to being a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments! It means so much to me that you are enjoying the story...more to come!!!


	19. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas and Dean finally....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is my first time writing smut and publishing it. So any comments would be greatly appreciated!

“I’m just saying,” Gabe crossed his legs, “that its funny Lucifer is mated to Adam. I mean, he tempted Adam and Eve out of the garden. Now he’s mated to Adam.” 

Dean watched his youngest brother run off with a sense of pride. Adam was doing what he thought was best and he was going to kick the devil in his ass. “Gabe, you’re a dick.” 

“Never denied that, sweetie,” Gabe said. “I’ve got quite the big one too.” 

“Honey, you don’t need to be sharing that with everyone here,” Sam said. 

“Thank you!” Dean said. 

“Your big dick is for my eyes only,” his brother continued with a wicked sparkle in his eyes. 

“Dude, gross!” the newest angel yelled. “I don’t need to know that!” 

"Didn't take you for a prude, Winchester," Gabe chuckled. 

"I'm not a prude," Dean groaned. "I just don't need to know about my brother's sex life. There are things that I really don't need to know and that rates right up there with them." 

"Don't be like that, Deanie," Gabriel said. "We would love to give you advice. I wasn't a pagan God for years for nothing. I could tell you so many stories." 

"La, la, la, I can't hear you," Dean plugged his ears. "I'm going to our room, Cas, if you'd like to join me." 

'Their room?' Dean saw Sam mouth to his mate. 

"Yes, our room, Samantha," Dean confirmed. "Cas and I are mated right? That means that we are essentially married. What's mine is his and all that." 

“That’s so sweet,” Gabriel said, pretending to swoon. “I never thought I would see the day when Dean Winchester made an honest man out of my brother.” 

“Shut up, Gabriel,” Dean said groaning. “I’m going to bed. C’mon Cas.” 

Cas followed Dean to his room in the bunker. While he had been in here many times, this was the first time that they would share the bed. Dean stood beside it, glancing hesitantly at his angel. 

“If you are uncomfortable, we can do this another night,” Cas offered. 

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Dean replied immediately. He sighed and pulled his thoughts together. “I’ve just never shared this bed with another person. I didn’t think I would get the chance.” 

“And now that you have you don’t want to lose the importance of it?” Cas guessed. He walked up and pulled Dean into his arms. “Dean, we are mated for eternity. You are the most important being in my life. It doesn’t matter if we do this tonight or tomorrow. I won’t rush this.” 

Dean melted in his arms. He rested his head on Cas’ shoulder and inhaled the scent that he had become so familiar with over the years. “I want to do this. I want to make love to you. I want us to never be apart ever again.” 

“What are you waiting for then?” 

Dean growled. Pulling back, he nibbled lightly on Cas’s ear. The angel tilted his head back to allow Dean more room. 

"Don't worry, I've been looking up how to do this," Dean said. 

"Dean Winchester did research?" Cas asked with a smirk.

"Shut it," he said. "I didn't know a whole lot about doing this and I wanted to make it perfect for you." 

Cas smiled softly. "Dean, you don't need to make this perfect. Just being with you is the best experience of my existence." 

"That's a long time," he said. "Puts a lot of pressure on a guy." 

"I would rather put pressure on a different part of you," Cas muttered. 

Dean blinked at him. "Did you just make a sex joke?" 

"I don't believe that I was joking," Cas said. "I want you inside of me now." 

They began to peal each other out of their clothes. This wasn't the slow pace that Dean had been expecting but hurried. They didn't need anything between them. 'I'll make sure to appreciate him later,' Dean promised himself. 

He pushed Cas onto the bed, wanting to see him spread out on the memory foam mattress. His angel laid there, with hooded eyes, waiting to see what Dean would do next. He knelt between his spread thighs. Dean took a few seconds to commit this moment to memory. 

"Dean," Cas growled. "Come on." 

Dean smiled. "Yes, dear." He began his trip down Cas's body, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. Cas arched into the contact. "Be patient, my mate." 

He widened the angel's thighs to get his first good look at Cas's most intimate place. His angry red cock jutted out from a patch of black hair. Just behind his hefty balls, was a rosette that was clenching at thin air. His angel was already wanting him. Dean didn't think he could touch Cas's prick without ending this. He grabbed the bottle of lube and poured some down his crack. 

Dean gently inserted the tip of his finger into his pucker. He swirled it around gently, trying to widen it before adding a second finger. Cas moaned loudly and began to push back. Dean's control began to fray. He needed to make this perfect for Cas. He added more lube and another finger. Cas just about sucked him inside. Dean took a deep breath. "You're ready." 

"I was ready a long time ago," Cas snarled. "Fuck me!"

Dean nodded and pressed his aching dick inside of Cas. Each inch that he sunk in, was divine torture. He took a deep breath as he felt Cas's ass clamp down on the base of his dick. 

"Oh, that's wonderful," Cas cried out. He clung tightly to Dean's forearms probably leaving bloody marks. His eyes were wide open and watching Dean’s every move. "Dean, move!" 

Dean began to withdraw and push back in, starting the primal dance that their bodies needed. "Baby," he moaned. "You feel so good on my cock."   
He never wanted to leave Cas, this was what he had been searching for. Dean loved the wet heat that surrounded him. Never in his life did he feel so at peace and hungry at the same time. Dean needed to see what Cas looked like in the throes of passion. He craved being the one to put the look of satisfaction on his mate’s face. 

“Dean, yes! I’m coming!” 

Dean’s hips stuttered. He aimed at the angle he knew would rub directly on Cas’s prostate. Cas began to tighten on his cock like he was trying to strangle him. That brought him to his release. Cas exploded between them, coating their stomachs in his pleasure. Dean came deep inside Cas. He leaned down and kissed Cas, needing that connection to ground himself. 

The moment their lips met, a bright light enveloped the room. For a brief moment, Dean was looking at himself from down below. He and Cas had switched places! Dean snapped back into himself knowing that a part of himself was left behind in Cas to connect them for all eternity.

The light dimmed down. Dean fell onto his back, back in his own body. He blinked a couple of times. Cas laid right beside him with a dazed look on his face. 

“That was the most amazing thing that I have ever done,” Dean panted. He pulled Cas into his side. “What did you think?” 

“Really? You have to ask?” 

“Stroke my ego a little bit here, mate,” Dean demanded. He brushed a kiss on top of his head. “I want to hear all about how I rocked your world.” 

“You don’t need any more stroking,” Cas muttered. 

Dean chuckled. “That’s what she said.” 

“Dean we’re the only ones in here,” Cas said tightly. “And it better stay that way. The only ones allowed in here are you and me. And perhaps our brothers because they are very inquisitive.” 

“Its a joke,” Dean said. He shivered. The possessive tone sent shivers down his spine. “But you can always talk to me like that. Its hot.” 

“Really?” Cas asked. 

"Really," Dean confirmed. "And just remember, I didn't want to spend the night with them either. But I want to stay with you, in your arms forever." 

"That can be arranged." Cas pulled Dean in tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late with this chapter y'all. The holiday season and all that. I hope this was good. All comments and kudos are welcome!! (: Happy Holidays!!


	20. Mated Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some kinks get worked out with the family...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry its been so long since I updated this story. My break has been pretty crazy with family get togethers and stuff like that. So here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

“You guys are really loud,” Adam said walking into the kitchen. 

Dean sprayed his coffee across the table. “You guys could hear us?”

“Deano, I think people in town could hear the way you made my brother here scream,” Gabriel added helpfully. He handed Dean a giant balloon with 'Congratulations!' On its face. "I got this just for you two." 

"Thank you?" Dean ventured. 

“When are you two going to mate?” Castiel asked Gabriel and Sam. Both of them blushed awkwardly. “You two are mates, you should embrace what comes with the mating.” 

“Thank you, Cas,” Sam muttered. “You always seem to cut straight to the heart of the matter.” 

“You’re welcome.” Cas beamed while Dean snickered. It was fun to have someone else be picked on for a while. 

“How was it?” Gabe asked curious. 

Dean shook his head, he knew where this was going. 

“It was wonderful,” Cas gushed. “The best thing that I’ve ever done. Dean was very thorough and patient. When we connected,” he sighed. “it was like a dream.” 

“He’s that good, huh?” 

“The best,” Cas said. Cas clarified. "I don't know how anyone could be better." 

"Them's fightin' words, bro," Gabriel said. "I'll have you know that I have been around for thousands of years, all of my lovers have walked away satisfied." 

"All of them, huh?" Sam's eyebrows disappeared in his hair. "Satisfied. You're going to have to do better than that." 

Gabriel looked panicked. "But none of them were my mate. You, Sam, are the most important person in my existence." 

"Nice try." Sam rolled his eyes. "I'll leave you to brag." He picked up his food and left. Probably heading to the library. 

"Even I know you messed up there, bro," Lucifer looked stunned, "and I'm the devil." 

Gabe finally looked worried. “What did I say?” 

“I don’t know,” Adam said. “It could have been the fact that you brought up all the people you’ve slept with over the years. What do you think, Dean?” 

Dean crossed his arms and stared the archangel down. “You hurt my brother any more and I will end you.” He pointed at Gabriel. “I have the juice to do it now, too. My brother loves you. You’re his mate. Don’t make me regret this.” 

Gabe nodded at the warning. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“You did,” Dean said. He felt power begin to crackle around him. “So go and fix it.” 

“I love it when you get all angry like that,” Cas whispered in his ear. “You make me want to do so many things.” 

Dean coughed. “Things?” 

“Alright, I’m out of here,” Gabriel said walking out the door. He paused. “Hey, Dean? Thanks.” 

“No thanks needed,” Dean said blushing when he felt Cas’s hand wander. “Just make him happy.” 

They watched him walk away. “Would you give me the same warning?” Lucifer asked. “About Adam, even though you haven’t known him that long?” 

Dean blinked, trying to regain his bearings. “Of course I would. Adam is my brother too! I love him.” He took a deep breath. “In fact, consider this your warning. Hurt him, you die.” 

“Thank you,” Lucifer said with a slight bow. Adam looked relieved beside him. “This has been worrying him for a long time.” 

“Lucifer,” Adam scolded. 

“No, Adam, he deserves to know,” the devil said. “Your worries are important too.” 

“You thought I didn’t love you?” Dean asked his youngest brother. Adam nodded. His heart felt like it got ripped from his chest. “You might not be my full brother, but that doesn’t make you any less, Adam. The moment I found out that you were out there, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. And when I found out you were dead, I was devastated.” He closed his eyes. “You’re my brother.” 

Adam rushed around the counter and pulled Dean into a tight hug. “I love you too.” 

Dean cleared his throat. “Enough of the chick flick moments.” He pulled away but patted Adam on his shoulder. “As a Winchester, you need to be trained. Can’t have you running around without knowing what you’re doing, can we?” 

Adam beamed. “I’d like that.” 

Cas groaned. “You say that now, but wait until Dean starts training you.” He shuddered. “I remember what it was like. You are going to be miserable.” 

“But it will be worth it,” Adam said with surety. 

"Just remember that you said that," Dean said. He suppressed the smirk that threatened to appear. "I was taught by the best." 

"And now I will be," Adam said. 

 

*Sam* 

Sam paced around the library. Yes, he knew that he was probably being irrational. Its not like the millennia old angel was celibate the whole time he was pretending to be a pagan god. Sam pushed back his hair. “That doesn’t mean it still didn’t hurt.” 

“I know,” Gabriel said from the doorway. He frowned and his face was the most serious that Sam had ever seen it. “I never meant to hurt you, Sam.” 

Sam shook his head. “Its stupid. I know you’ve been living for thousands of years, so you have a history. I have a history too. But I still got upset.” 

“You have the right to be,” Gabe said. He walked closer. “Moose, those people were nothing special, just a way to pass the time really. It got lonely being me.” 

“I understand.” 

“That doesn’t mean that I should have brought it up like that,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t think before I speak. You would think I’d have learned to by now but it hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“Thank you for apologizing.” Sam nodded. “It does help.” 

Gabriel’s eyes twinkled. There was the pagan god that Sam fell for. “How about I make it up to you instead?”

“What did you have in mind?” 

“Would a blowjob and then a claiming make it up to you?” Gabriel asked. 

“You want to claim me?” Sam asked stunned. He never imagined that this would happen. 

“Yeah, we’re mates after all.” Gabriel faltered. “I would love to claim you, Samuel Winchester, if you’ll have me?” 

Sam attacked him. That’s the only way he could describe the emotions running through him. Sam’s lips and hands were everywhere and anywhere he could reach on the archangel. 

Gabriel giggled. “I’m going to take that as a yes?” 

“Yes, a thousand times yes,” Sam gasped. “Claim me, I’m your’s.” 

“What about that blowjob?” 

“Raincheck?” Sam ventured. “I don’t know how long I’m going to last right now as it is. You’ve gotten me so wound up.” 

Gabriel smirked and started pealing off Sam’s clothes. Every item of clothing ended up in a different part of the room. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” 

Sam smirked and walked over to the table. 'Let's see how he likes this.' Sam spread his legs wide. Bent over the table as he was, he knew he looked a sight. Offering himself up. He reached behind him and spread his cheeks. Gabriel groaned at the picture he was making. At least Sam wasn’t the only one affected by this. 

“Show me what you were bragging about earlier,” Sam prodded. “I want to feel what thousands of years experience can do.” 

Gabriel’s eyes gleamed. “Oh you’ll feel it alright,” he promised. “You’ll feel it in every step you take later. Each time you sit down, your ass will throb with the reminder of our time together.” Sam whimpered. “And you’ll get hard too. You’re going to want this again, and again, and again.” 

“Gabe!” Sam pleaded. “Please, fuck me!” 

Gabriel shook his head. "First I have to prepare you." 

Sam groaned. "You're going to kill me." 

"Nothing that feels this good will kill you," he reminded him. Gabe snapped his fingers and a bottle of lube appeared in his hand. He popped the cap and poured plenty down down Sam's crack. He ran a gentle hand over his lover's backside before placing a finger on his pucker And swirling it around. Sam moaned and pushed back against his mate. "Easy, you'll get what you want." 

"I just wish you would hurry." Sam glanced over his shoulder. "I'm not getting any younger here." 

"In a few minutes you will never age again," Gabe said. 

"What?" He stiffened. 

Gabe paused. "You didn't know? You, and Adam once he's mated to Lucifer, will never age. You're my mate. I wouldn't be able to do my job if I could only have you for a little while." 

"I didn't know that." 

"Does it upset you?" Gabe asked. "You know that Dean wouldn't be able to stand being separated from you anyway." 

Sam considered. "No, I'm not upset. It was just something that I've never heard before." 

"Do you want to wait to do this another time?" 

Sam shook his head. "No! I still want you to claim me. Please, Gabriel." Sam lowered his upper body to rest on the table. "Come on." 

One finger quickly turned into two. Sam began to squirm around them. With each inward stroke, Gabriel was hitting Sam's prostate and the world shook. He thrust back as far as he could for more. 

"Are you ready?" Gabriel asked quietly. "Are you ready for my cock, Sam?" 

"Yes!" Sam moaned. He stilled, anticipating. Nothing. "Please, Gabriel. Mate me!" 

"I was just waiting for the magic word," he said with a chuckle. 

"Please, damn you!" Sam yelled. It turned into a long moan when the blunt head of Gabriel's cock slowly slid into his ass. "Yes." 

"You haven't seen anything yet." 

Gabriel began to steadily inch forward and pull back until only the tip remained inside Sam. Sam moaned and twisted on the end of his cock wanting to feel the whole thing. He tried to thrust back, to hurry his mate up, but he couldn't move. Gabriel held a firm grip on his hips and wouldn't let Sam rush things.

"Why?" 

"I want this to be something you remember," Gabriel explained. "This is special, not just some one night stand. You are my mate." 

"Thank you," Sam whispered. Pleased that Gabriel was taking this so seriously, he halted all his attempts to move. Maybe it was okay to let the former trickster take the reins every once in a while. 

Gabriel continued his long, hard strokes. Each one pushed Sam closer to his climax. Sam reached for his cock.

“Nope, you’re going to come on my cock,” his mate demanded. “And from my cock alone.”

“Gabriel!”

“Yell my name, sweetheart,” Gabe groaned. “I want everyone in the world to hear who you belong to.”

“Mate!” Sam sprayed the old table with come. He panted and moaned again as Gabe’s hot come began to fill him up. 

Fireworks lit up his world. Sam blinked. There were actual fireworks going off in the Men of Letter's library. 

"You're such a dork." Sam's body gave out. The last thing he could recall before drifting into peaceful slumber was Gabe transporting them to his room. 

 

Sam walked into the kitchen the next morning to find all of his family already there. What shocked him more than anything was Adam sitting on the devil's lap.

"Did I miss something?" He asked Dean. 

His older brother groaned. "You're little love fest triggered their own." He pointed at the two. "Our little brother is claimed too." 

"I don't want to know any details," Sam said immediately. 

"I said the same thing," Dean piped up. 

"Well I didn't," Gabe said wrapping his arms around Sam. "Tell me everything. Dish." 

"It was wonderful," Adam provided. "But to spare my brothers, I won't say anything more." 

"Thank you," Sam said gratefully. "My brain thanks you too." 

"You guys are such party poopers," Gabe grumbled. "What's for breakfast?"

"I can tell you're really upset," Dean said with a raised eyebrow. He pointed at the table. "I popped out early this morning for some pancakes from that place in New Hampshire that was so amazing. I also got some fresh syrup to put on them." 

"They look wonderful," Gabe said grabbing a plate. 

"It's going to take some getting used to," Sam said. "You just 'popping' in and out of places. Weird." 

"At least this one came with food," Dean offered. He sat down next to Cas. "Come on Sammy, dig in."


	21. So You Team Up With the Devil (the Other One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang begins to put together a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know this chapter is a little short and I'm sorry. I just started the spring semester of school so things will be a little sporadic. Apologies in advance. I hope to finish this up here in the coming weeks. Thank you! As always this is unedited. (:

“I wonder what that thing is up to?” Dean wondered out loud. 

“Its obvious, isn’t it?” Adam said. “She’s trying to take over the world. The darkness is angry that God and his angels imprisoned it. What better way to get revenge than to destroy or twist the reason it was imprisoned to begin with?” Dean just stared at his brother. “What you thought I was just another pretty face?” Adam teased. 

“That is very astute thinking, Adam,” Castiel praised. “I am sure Dean is just trying to catch up.” 

“Adam!” Dean shouted. “You’re a genius!” He patted his brother on the back. 

“No, but I’m just someone who can see this from the outside,” Adam corrected. “Anyone would have figured it out.” 

“Dean doesn’t particularly like it when people he loves put themselves down,” Cas said. “Take the compliment, it will be a lot easier for everyone.” 

“I’m just saying it was good that he spotted it,” Dean defended. 

“Yes, Dean,” Cas said rolling his eyes. 

“But the next question is, how do we stop it?” Sam asked the group. 

“God said that we needed to all mate,” Dean said slowly. “Since we’re done that now,” he rolled his eyes at Adam’s blush, “maybe we should start making plans to end this thing.” 

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Sam narrowed his eyes. “Dean never wants to plan anything.” 

Dean huffed. “I figured since I am the head of the angels now, I should really start working on battle strategy. It pays off to think about stuff like that.” 

“That’s very wise, Dean,” Castiel said with a patient smile. 

“How did it turn those people into zombies?” Adam asked. “One minute they were all shopping and then they were coming after us.” 

“Their souls were possessed,” Sam said. 

“I wonder if it could possess demons?” Dean thought out loud. 

“What are you thinking, Deano?” Gabriel asked. 

“If it can possess people like demons can, can it also possess a human who already has someone else in residence?” 

Lucifer studied him. “That would be something we’d have to test out. I’m still the devil.” 

“But most of hell follows Crowley,” Cas pointed out. 

Lucifer sneered. “That little worm.” 

Dean shared a look with Cas. He knew what he was thinking, now if he could just get the others behind it. Cas squinted but nodded. 

“What are you two thinking about over there?” Gabriel demanded. “None of us can understand that thing you do, we never could.” 

Dean hesitated. “I think we can get the demons we need on our side.” 

“How?” Sam asked. Understanding dawned in his eyes. “Crowley.” 

“Crowley,” Lucifer repeated. “You want to use Crowley?” 

Dean nodded. “You’re not really the devil anymore, Lucifer. You’re on your way to being forgiven. Crowley really does a good job as the devil, but than some at least. I’m sure if I talk to him, we can get him to donate to our side.” 

Sam stared at him incredulously. “Did you forget the part where I vowed to kill him in exchange for getting rid of the mark? He’s not going to want anything to do with the Winchesters, Dean.” 

“Come on, man,” Dean said rolling his eyes. “Crowley is a demon of opportunities. If we tell him about what the darkness is planning and how we’ll stop it, then I’m sure he won’t have any problem with it.” 

“Do you really think that?” Cas asked. 

“Not one bit,” Dean admitted. “He’s going to be pissed still.” He shrugged. “We just have to try to talk it out. His mom is the one that darkness is possessing. That has to mean something.” 

“She’s the one who wanted him dead!” Sam said exasperated. 

“I’m going,” Dean said. 

****************

Dean didn't even need to look up the summoning spell anymore. That just proved how messed up his life had become.

“Moose, squirrel,” Crowley drawled. “To what do I owe the dubious pleasure?” He looked at the devil’s trap on the ceiling in displeasure. He glanced around at the angels and Winchesters surrounding him. “Come to finally kill me?” 

“No,” Dean said. “I’m assuming you’ve heard about the darkness that split the cage?” 

“You’re referring to the thing that is currently occupying my mother? Yes, I am aware.” 

“Yeah, that,” Dean said. 

“Eloquent,” Lucifer muttered. 

“Shut up,” Sam hissed. 

“Its trying to take over the world,” Dean hurried. “It wants revenge on God for locking it up in the cage.” 

“And its going to get that by taking over this rock?” Crowley said doubtfully. “God’s left the building. He doesn’t care.” 

“Idiot,” Lucifer muttered. “And you’re in charge of hell?” He scoffed. The devil pointed at Dean. “Does it look like God does’t care anymore? Dean’s an angel, you don’t just wake up one morning an angel without God having something to do with it.” 

“I remember Dean’s upgrade,” Crowley said. “What do you want me to do about the darkness, Dean? Trap it in hell?” 

“No,” Dean said. “We’re going to destroy it. But we need to get it close to us without it being able to turn people into zombies.” 

“That didn’t sound pretty,” Adam added. “I’ve always hated zombie movies.” 

“So this is the youngest Winchester?” Crowley observed. “Looks nothing like you.” 

“He’s our brother,” Sam said. “And he’s also Lucifer’s boyfriend.” 

“So Lucy has a boyfriend now? Aren’t we becoming so domestic?” 

“Cut the crap,” Dean said sharply. “Admit it, you want to know what we’re going to do. You’re itching to know what’s going on.” He smiled. “I know you Crowley. You forget that we used to be “besties”.” 

“Used to,” Crowley said. “Past tense, darling. That ended when your brother there tried to kill me.”

“We need your help, Crowley,” Castiel said. “Believe me, if there was any other way we would do it.” 

“So I’m your last resort?” The king of hell sighed. “Alright, tell me this grandly stupid plan of your’s, winged squirrel.” 

Dean grinned. They had him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for sticking with me this far! Kudos and comments are appreciated. I'd like to see how you all are liking it so far. Thank you!!


	22. Last Night on Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Lucifer have a heart to heart then Lucifer and Adam clear the air.

Dean stared at the map in the bunker. He couldn’t count the number of times he had done this since they found the bunker. Each state, each country, no one knew what was going on. They never knew how close they had come to being destroyed over the years.

“Do you really think that this plan will work?” Lucifer asked from behind Dean. “I’m all for hair brained ideas but this one takes the cake.” 

“Dude, when has one of our plans actually worked?” Dean scoffed. “No I’m not sure, this could go to shit in twenty seconds. But we still have to try. I’m not letting the world get destroyed because of me.” 

“Its not because of you,” Lucifer shook his head, “this has never been your responsibility. Dean, your destiny and Sam’s was written about millennia ago. Nothing you could have done would have stopped the seals from breaking or from me getting out of the cage the first time. You were meant to have the mark and the darkness was going to get out.” 

“But I broke the first seal-“ 

“Because you were meant to,” the devil stated. “Everything that has happened and will happen was meant to be.” 

“You’re starting to sound like a hippie,” Dean laughed, not meeting his eyes. 

“Because it is the truth.” he laughed. “I’m not sure when I became so soft. But the truth is, dad planned for this to happen. He knows all. All you need to do right now, Archangel Dean Winchester, is have faith that dad knows what he’s doing.” 

“You have gone soft,” Dean muttered. Lucifer growled. “Fine, I’ll have faith. But I’ve got to say, this is ridiculous.” 

“You’re telling me,” the devil muttered. “Teaming up with demons, must be a cold day in hell.” 

Dean just stared, unsure if the angel was joking or not. Lucifer just took off laughing. “I live with a bunch of crazies.” 

“Who’s crazy?” Cas asked. 

“Your brothers,” he answered. “I have joined this craziness willingly.” 

“Yes you did,” Cas agreed. “But did you ever stop to think that now they are your brothers too?”

“What?” 

“Dean, you are now an archangel, the head archangel,” Castiel said patiently. “You have brought my brothers back from the brink. Gabriel and Lucifer would never have functioned properly if they did not have your brothers. And if you had stood in the way, they would not have mated with Adam and Sam.” 

“But I would never hurt my brothers,” Dean protested. “Sure, I’m not too fond of the fact that Adam is mated to the devil but they’re happy and Lucy isn’t trying to start the apocalypse again.” 

“That is why they are all here,” Cas stated. “Each and everything that has happened since you got the Mark of Cain has been caused by you and your willingness to help. I am just glad that we were able to figure all of this out.” 

“Enough of the chick flick moments,” Dean said shaking his head. “Both you and Lucy think the same. Next thing you know every one will come in here and start singing.”

Cas smiled. “Alright, no more for today.” 

Dean pulled his angel in close. “So tonight could be our last night on earth…” 

Cas blinked. “Dean if you want to have sex all you have to do is ask. I do not require a line like that.” 

“Jeez, Cas, I’m just trying to set the mood.” He pouted. 

“And by setting the mood, you mean that we might die tomorrow? How is that going to make anyone want to have sex?” Cas looked alarmed. “I would think they would just be depressed.” 

Now it was Dean’s turn to blink. “You know what? I’ve never thought of it like that before. Then I would like to go have sex then.” 

“So romantic,” Cas said. 

“Hey you were the one who said to just say so,” Dean protested. 

“I’m not complaining,” the angel said. “Race you to the bedroom.” 

 

*****************  
Lucifer-

“I know your bother is emotionally constipated,” Lucifer said, “but I hope I can say this to you.” 

Adam looked up startled. “You can tell me anything,” he said. “I was raised by my mother. Feelings don’t freak me out.” 

“I’m glad that I met you,” he said. “I’ll thank father forever that you gave me the time of day after I hurt you so badly.” 

“Luc, you saved me,” Adam said. “You protected me from your family, your brother. After spending such a long time with you already, how could I not want to get to know you?” 

“Do you like what you’ve found?” he asked hesitantly. 

Adam nodded. “I do. But do you like what you’ve found? Sam and Dean are so much stronger than I am. I wasn’t raised in this life like they were.” 

“Each and every one of you are different. You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for being.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to talk about your brothers now?” 

Adam shook his head. “No but I just wanted to make myself clear.” 

“Crystal,” Lucifer said. He ran his hands down Adam’s throat to the bit of skin that peaked out from his shirt. Grabbing the edges, he ripped the shirt sending buttons everywhere. “Need skin, now.” 

“Right, o-o-okay,” Adam stuttered. “I thought I was supposed to be taking care of you?” 

“I wasn’t the one who wanted to talk about his feelings,” Lucifer reminded him. “Now I’m just trying to get back on track. I don’t want you to regret anything that we’ve done together.” 

“No matter what species they are, men are so stupid,” Adam muttered. “Lucifer, I love you. No matter what you’ve done in your past. We are going to share our future together. I wouldn’t have had sex with you if I wasn’t sure you were what I wanted.” 

Lucifer took a deep breath. “Make love to me, Adam,” he whispered. “Please.” 

He gasped. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” 

Lucifer nodded. “I’m sure.” He walked up to his mate. “I want to feel you in me, Adam.” 

Adam looked dazed for all of ten seconds before he jumped on the opportunity. There were times when Lucifer forgot how young Adam was. Adam was up from the bed in a heartbeat and pushing him up against the door. Seems his mate liked play like this. He’d have to file that away for later. 

“I’m going to make this good for you,” Adam promised in his ear. His hot breath sent tingles down Lucifer’s spine. 

“I know,” he acknowledged. “I wouldn’t be doing this, if I didn’t know that.” He was proud of himself for putting a sentence together. 

“Are you sure you want to do this, Luc?” Adam asked quietly. He looked his mate in the eyes. “We don’t have to do this right now. I can wait.” 

He rolled his eyes. Looks like the only way he was going to get this show on the road was to have this little heart to heart. “I want this, Adam. I want to feel you inside of me. Is it that odd that I would want to know you in this way?” 

“I guess not,” the young man admitted. “Its not that I don’t want to, its just that I want to make sure this is what you want too.” 

“Honey,” he chuckled. “I’ve been the devil for centuries. There is nothing that someone could make me do that I didn’t want to do in the first place.” He rubbed up against his mate. “Now does that settle your fears?” 

Adam nodded. “Let’s get out of these clothes.” He started ripping off his clothes. 

Lucifer just snapped his fingers. Their clothes laid in a heap on the floor.

“You cheated!” 

“Nope, just using my resources,” Lucifer murmured. “Are you going to complain about that now? Or do you want to move onto the main event?” 

Adam smirked. “Oh we’ll get there alright.” He backed up. “Turn around and put your hands on the door.” 

Lucifer raised an eyebrow but did what his mate asked. He put his hands against the wood and looked over his shoulder. “Like this?” He spread his feet wide. 

Adam’s nostrils flared. “Fuck. You’re perfect.” He began running his fingers down Lucifer’s back, his nails leaving a slight trail in their wake. Lucifer hissed. “Yes, mate, its going to be a long time before we get to the main event.” He massaged the globes of his ass, spreading his cheeks open wider with each pass. 

Lucifer’s head fell back on his shoulders. That tongue felt heavenly. Adam certainly knew how to make him want more. “Adam,” he croaked. “That’s feels so good.” He could feel his young mate grin as he added fingers. Adam’s tongue and finger danced together to make him a babbling mess. “More, please!” 

“You want more?” Adam asked. “Let’s move this to the bed.” Lucifer fell on his back in the middle of the bed and watched Adam climb between his legs. He reached for the lube next to them and poured some on him. The cold liquid made Lucifer jump. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “Just give me more. Make me forget about it.” 

“So demanding.” Adam began to scissor his fingers, gently opening him up. Every so often, he would graze Lucifer’s prostate making him moan. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” 

“Just hurry up and get in me!” 

“You think you’re ready? Do you want to feel me that badly?”

“Damnit yes! I want you in me right now!” He whimpered at the sudden loss of Adam’s fingers. Lucifer felt the blunt head of Adam’s cock kiss his waiting hole. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” 

“Adam, either put your cock in me or I’m going to flip us over and do it myself!” 

Adam chuckled. “Just wanted to make sure.” He began to press forward with his hips spreading Lucifer apart. A loud moan filled the room but Lucifer couldn’t tell who’s it was. His whole being was focused at their union. It seemed like an eternity for Adam’s pelvis to grind into his ass. 

“You feel so good,” Lucifer grunted. “You fill me up so well, baby.” 

“I’m glad,” his mate said. “I’ve never felt this good either. You ready for me to move?” 

Lucifer nodded. His mate was always so considerate. “Yes. Do it.”

Lucifer let him set the pace. Adam started with slow hard thrusts. Quickly though, Lucifer began to fly towards his orgasm. He wrapped his legs around Adam and spurred him along. He arched his back and ran his nails down Adam’s back. Instead of stopping, this seemed to arouse Adam further and he quickened his pace. Sweat ran down Adam’s face. His little mate looked feral with need, his pupils were completely blown and his hair was a tangled mess. 

Lucifer’s entire body seized with the force of his climax. Wet heat filled the space between them. Adam’s abs flexed with the effort to continue. His lover leaned down for a searing kiss. 

Lucifer nibbled his lips. “Come, Adam. I want to watch you come.” 

“Lucifer!” Adam cried. His hot come flooded Lucifer’s ass. It felt so good that his cock tried vainly to get hard again. Adam collapsed on top of Lucifer smearing his come all over them. “Love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

Lucifer and Adam laid on the bed in a tangle of limbs. Sweat cooled them both off. Adam pressed sweet kisses along Lucifer’s face. “So how was that?” 

Luc stared at him in disbelief. “You even have to ask? Mate, that was the best thing that has ever happened to me! I’m not even exaggerating when I call it Devine. And trust me on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am so sorry about being so late with this chapter. Things got crazy there for a few months and I didn't have much motivation for writing. But I'm back now and hopefully this will turn out well.  
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated. Thanks!
> 
> ****AT THIS POINT IN TIME THIS WORK IS ON HIATUS. I'M JUST NOT GETTING ANY MOTIVATION ON IT!*

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work that I have published on here. So feel free to comment but please...be gentle.


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